A Dictionary of the Central Nicobarese Language

NICOBARESE GRAMMAR.

NOTES ON THE GRAMMAR OF THE DIALECT

SPOKEN IN THE CENTRAL PORTION OT THE

NICOBAR ISLANDS. 1

The particular language to which the following observations are
confined is that spoken by the aborigines of the Nicobar Islands in
the vicinity of the settlement established in N ancowry Harbour by
the Indian Government in 1869.

A glance at the map will show that the Nicobar group,
comprising twelve . inhabited and seven uninhabited islands and
islets, is situated between the 6th and 10th parallels of N.
latitude and between 92° 40' and 94° of E. longitude, and thus lies
in a direct line between Sumatra and the Andaman Archipelago.
The inhabitants consist of coast and inland tribes ; the former,
evidently of Malayo-Burman origin, 3 occupy all the inhabited
islands and number about 6,200 souls, upwards of one-half of
whom are located on the northernmost island (Car Nicobar), while
the latter are confined to the interior of the largest and southern-
most island (Great Nicobar), where their numbers are believed not
to exceed a few hundreds ; these communities evidently represent the
original inhabitants of at least the southern islands of the group,
and are probably allied to one or other of the wild tribes of
Sumatra.

Although the inhabitants themselves recognise the existence of
six distinct dialects in their midst, four of these, viz., those spoken
in Chowra, Teressa, and the central and southern groups, might
with some reason be regarded as one, the differences being evi-
dently the result commonly observed among all similarly scattered

1 These islands are linguistically divided into sax communities, riz. : — (I)
Car Nicobar (population about 3,500) j (2) Chowra (about 700) ; (3) Teressa
with Bompoka (about 650) j (4) the Central Group, embracing Camorta, Nan-
cowry, Tnnkut, and Katchal (about 1,070) ; (6) the Southern Group, eom-i
prising Great and Little Nicobar, Condul, and Milo (nbout 290) ; and (6) the
inland tribe (Shorn Pen) of Great Nicobar (? about 700).

* In respect to their affinity to the Burmese there is, I think, reason to
connect them with the Telaings of Pegu rather than with any other branch of
the Burmese race, and vejy petiibfy-they may be allied also to the aboiginal
inhabitant a oi the Merji

Viii NICOBARESl GEAMMAlt.

communities speaking an unwritten language and enjoying infre-
quent opportunities of mter-eommunication and intercourse. The
diversities of speech which have sprang into being among the four
communities in question, are, moreover, no doubt in great measure
ascribable to the operation of a superstitious custom, which here,
as in various other remote regions, has effected constant changes
in the language of the inhabitants ; but in every instance of this
kind such changes have been limited to the area of the particular
community concerned. The practice referred to is based on a firm
belief in an after- existence, and requires that the names of deceased
relatives and friends shall be tabued for a certain lengthened
period — generally about one generation — for fear of summoning or
offending the ghost of the person so named. 1 Therefore, as their
system of personal nomenclature not only permits anyone to invent
or adopt a name for him or herself, but also to take for this purpose
any word in the language without consideration of its being in
general use, it naturally follows that new words have to be con-
stantly coined to take the place of those whose use is tabued in
consequence of a death, and thus many striking changes are intro-
duced into the language in the course of each generation. 3 This
fact explains why so many of the women and other untravelled
members of these communities are incapable of understand-
ing the dialects spoken in the adjacent islands, and, therefore,
regard their neighbours in the light of distinct tribes ; at the same
time the frequent occurrence of synonyms for common objects is
accounted for by the custom, which requires a man to assume the
tabued name of his deceased grandfather immediately after the
death of his own parents, and a woman, under like circumstances,
takes to herself the name of her deceased grandmother.

It will be readily understood that when the time comes for
resuming a long tabued name, which conveys some meaning in
their language, the substituted word which has been meanwhile
employed, has in many eases taken such firm root as to remain
concurrently in use.

The Nieobar dialects are included in the Tibeto-Anam family,
and are in the agglutinative stage of development. In the absence

1 When the small number of speakers of each of these unwritten dialects is
taken into consideration it seems somewhat remarkable that the language should
be characterised by so much stability as is shown to be the case from the results
of a comparison of the vocabularies prepared between 1711 and 1787 and those
of the present day. The most striking differences are naturally found in those
dialects which are spoken in the localities most widely separated from each other.
Taking, for example, such common words as hut and canoe we find these to be
in the Central Group dialect m and due, while at Car Nieobar the corresponding
words are pdti and dp ; again such a sentence in the former dialect as toot men
pahSa chit okngdk ten paiyuh (don't be afraid, I am not a cannibal, lit. I don't
eat men), is in Car Nicobarese dm paia kua dra chian kd tdrik.

* " As amongst most half -developed nations proper names are compounded of
words in daily use, new expressions must be invented to replace them. When
King Potnare died at Tahiti the word po (night) vanished from the language.
The same custom is or was observed by the Papuans of New Guinea, the
Australians and Tasmunians." .... (Peachel).

NIC0BAR1SI GRAMMAR IX

of homonyms haying entirely different meanings and distinguish-
able by intonation only, they differ from Burmese and other Indo-
Chinese tongues, but in structure they present certain points of
resemblance to Malay, Peguan, and Burmese, from which circum-
stance as well as the evident affinity of the inhabitants to those
races, the natives more readily acquire a knowledge of Malay and
Burmese languages than of any other.

The community of verbal structure and parts of speech which is
found to exist between the dialects spoken in these islands and the
Indo-Chinese languages, is such as to justify the inference that it
is due to common descent or continued affinity. This assumption
is strengthened, and indeed, as elsewhere pointed out, all doubt ou
the question of racial affinity is dispelled when we come to compare
the ethnic characters and customs of these islanders, as well as
their traditions and beliefs with those of the neighbouring conti-
nents of Hindustan on the one hand, and of Malayo-Burma on the
other.

The small number of words borrowed from other races is some-
what remarkable. Examples of these are shapdta (boot), pipo,
(cask), Ubcure (book, paper), shapeo (hat), rupia (rupee), Santa-
Maria (copper money), which are all apparently of Portuguese
origin ; lifdnta (elephant) is from the English word ; shal (salt)
from the Hindustani; mbngko (cup), iwi-pbt (one of the evil
spirits), Jtapo (buffalo), haiyam (fowl, 0. Nic.) from the Malay ;
hold (steal), kamalo (thief), from the Peguan; while the resem-
blance between moah (nose), and ddk (water) to the Peguan equiva-
lents moo and dik respectively, may possibly be accidental and not
due to adoption. 1

The symbols which have been adopted in order to represent the
various sounds occurring in this unwritten language will be found
in the accompanying Appendix A (the alphabet). As there stated
they are for the most part a transcript of what appeared in the
report of the annual address of the President of the Philological

1 At Car Nicobar the men mostly possess a good colloquial knowledge of
Burmese, and many can converse in Hindustani and English. A few only know
anything of Malay or of any of the dialects spoken at Chowra and other islands
of the Group. At Chowra the men know little or nothing of Burmese, Hindu-
stani, Malay, or English, hut have sufficient acquaintance with the Car Nicobar
and Central Group dialects to make themselves understood by their neighbours.

At Teresta and Bompoha the men can converse fairly well in Malay, Burmese,
and Hindustani as well as in the Chowra and Central Group dialects. ^ In the
Central Group the men are mostly able to converse in Hindustani and Malay,
and some in Burmese and English as well as in the dialect spoken in the
Southern Group and Teressa.

In the Southern Group the men can converse in Malay and a few in Hindu-
stani and in the dialect of the Central Group.

At none of the islands can the women speak any hut their own dialect. A few
near the Government settlement have picked up a slight knowledge of Hindu-
stani. It occasionally happens that natives of different islands, such as Car
Nicobar and those south of Chowra, from ignorance of each others dialect, are
compelled to converse together either in Hindustani, Burmese, Malay, or even
English.

X NICOBARESE GRAMMAR.

Society (Mr. A. J. Illis, F.R.S.), in 1882. 1 It will be seeH tbat the
language is chiefly remarkable for its great variety of nasal Towels
and diphthongs, most of which are believed to have no place in
any European tongne.'

The peculiarity in regard to final elided and half-uttered con-
sonants so well known in Burmese, and which presents one of the
chief difficulties in the correct pronunciation of that language is a
further striking feature in Nieobarese, so much so that in conversa-
tion it is generally impossible for a stranger to be able to distinguish
the particular consonant which has been thus, as it were, slurred or
checked in mid-utterance. In the particular dialect under con-
sideration, the final consonants which are in many words enunciated
imperfectly in this manner are u j" " cJi" and "k" e.gr., ngai(ch),
oil ; chi(j) y abstain from certain kinds of food and pleasures (as
when mourning) ; hen~8kd(kyngasM, interrupt ; md(k)-ngayan f well
(not sick) ; mand(k)nga-kdi, youngest child. 3 Possibly, on closer
examination, one or two others of rare occurrence might be found.

A further similarity to Burmese is observed in the indeterminate
sound of certain consonants in a large number of words, so much is
this the case, that some hesitation is often justified in arriving at a
final decision on this point. If we may judge from the diverse
methods of transliteration adopted by those who have published
their views on this subject the same remark would seem to be
necessary regarding certain final aspirates as well as some of the
nasal vowels and diphthongs, concerning the existence of which I
have thoroughly satisfied myself.* The letters that are actually
transposable or which are made to appear so from the writings of
others are : —

t and d ; p and b ; g and k ; $ and sh ; d and r ; e.g. : —
tewila (Oycas Rurrvphii) ... ... diwile (de Roepstorff).

fdp (side) ... ... ... ... fab ; fap (de Roepstorff).

Poahat (Bompoka Island) ... Boahat (de Roepstorff).

* See " Transao. Philol. Soe.," 188fc~$-4, pj>. 49-50.

\ The Banish scientist, Br. H. Rink, who visited the Nieobars in 1846, wrote,
" I have heard many different languages spoken, but none of them had so dis-
agreeable a sound as the Nicobarian. The great number of guttural and nasal
sounds, the uneducated, drawling pronunciation becoming still more difficult on
account of the disfigured mouth, makes a very disagreeable impression."

3 As mentioned in the notes to Appendix A, the method which has been
adopted in order to represent the peculiarity of the arrested sound of these three
letters is to place them within brackets.

4 It is only right to mention that the difficulties experienced in transliterating
the sounds in this language are chiefly due to the imperfect articulation which
characterises the speech of the great majority of the natives, the result of the
almost universal practice of excessive betel-chewing. In order, therefore, to
avoid as far as possible the difficulties thus presented, and to thoroughly satisfy
myself on a matter of such importance, I was careful not only to select for
interrogation intelligent natives who had the free use of their lips, tongues, and
teeth, but also, before recording their replies, to question them as to the accuracy
of the words as rendered by previous writers wherever these differed materially
from my own.

XICOBARESK GRAMMAR. XI

pard j bard (dollar) ... ... jpard (de Roepstorff).

paiyuh (native of Nieobars) ... $aiu(&ell.);baju (Rink).

kirdha (leaf -tray) ... ... ... gerdha (de R.).

sha-yudng (Madrepora) siioang (de R.).

karu; hadu (large) ... ... ki« (de R.).

dbktai (10, also 200) ruktei (de R.).

du; ru l (clay) ... ... ... du (de R.).

due\ Hie 1 (canoe) ... ... ... due (de R.).

daUngarii (startle, v.i.) ... ... ratnadit (de R.).

While in respect to final aspirates and nasal vowels and
diphthongs the following may be mentioned : —

chuh (go home) ... ... ... tiu (de R.).

paiyuh (native of Nieobar Islands) pain (de R.), baju (Rink).

aminh (rain) ... ... ... ami (de R.).

enh (near) ... ... ... ... oeh (de R.).

men (thon) ... ... ... ... me (de R.).

an (two) a (de R.) ; ah (Rink).

midn (pronged spear) ... ... mid (de R.).

tanai (five); inai (twenty) ... tanein; inein* (de R.).

mifainya (cloud) ... ... ... mifdie (de R.).

hollan (spinster) holemng (deR.).

panoi (stench) ... ... ... bdoi (de R.).

Of sounds which they find difficult or, in the case of many indi-
viduals, impossible to pronounce, the following may be mentioned
as examples : " stars," " strands," " strength," " sloth," " stations,"
"churches," "thorns," "the," "they," "then," "this," "those,"
"years," "cowards," where the "st," "si," "rch," "rds,""th"
(both initial and final), and final sibilants prove stumbling blocks.
The difficulty in pronouncing such a name as " Brookes is sur-
mounted by substituting " Brooksis " or " Brooksy."

As will be seen on a subsequent page there is no lack of
expressive interjections and exclamations.

Unlike Chinese and Burmese, no instance has been discovered in
any of the dialects in which the meaning of words depends on tone,
accent, or emphasis, but, in common with many other tongues, sen-
tences can be rendered affirmative or interrogative by change of
tone or stress.

As in the case of other barbarous tribes similarly circumstanced,
their dialects are rich in terms denoting various actions, such as
fishing, coming, going, ascending, eating, carrying, visiting, and
the like, whereby slight distinctions of meaning are conveyed ; as,
for instance, they posssess a word to express eating meat and another

1 In compound words, e.g., koi-r* t concrete, or ground floor.

kola-rue, landing-place.

2 Although both the " »'« " in each of these words are alike unaccented it is
probable that the writer intended to represent the final " i* " in each case as
nasalised.

xll NICOBARESE GRAMMAR.

which is applicable only to eating vegetables, rice, &c. ; to denote
fishing they have specific terms each indicating one or other of the
various methods of catching fish ; to express carrying there are, in
like manner, distinct words applicable only to one or other of
the several modes of carrying, i.e., on the shoulder, back, hip, in the
arms, &c. ; again, by means of suffixes, they are careful to specify
direction in describing such actions as cutting, aiming, &c, i.e.,
whether upwards, downwards, or horizontally, but perhaps the
most remarkable is the punctilious use of a series of suffixes with
certain verbs and adverbs in order to denote direction to one or
other of the four cardinal points of the compass and to the landing-
place}

They possess no generic term to indicate an animal. Each de-
scription of quadruped, as well as bird, fish, insect, &e., bears its
own specific name, but they have no means of denoting the bruto
creation under one term. In consequence of the very limited num-
ber of animals in their islands, no inconvenience is thereby experi-
enced, or the omission would, of course, have long since been
supplied. The word shei is used to indicate insects, reptiles, includ-
ing turtles, tortoises, crocodiles, iguanas, snakes, &c, likewise
molluscs, crustaceans, holothuria, &c, while shichua (probably a
contraction of shei, insect, and bl-chua, jungle) is applied to birds
and bats, and kda embraces all varieties of fish.

In like manner, although possessing a variety of terms indicating
specific stages of the tide, they have no general term to denote tide,
and therefore have recourse to the word hamate (sea) in such
cases as the following: — KdsMn kamale* daka-kat, how's the tide
now?

The names of several birds and animals are derived from their
cries and certain other words are suggestive of their meaning,* e.g.
mumu (imperial pigeon) ; hohwdnha (goose) ; wet (duck) ; kdl (sea-
gull) ; hang (frog) ; me (goat) ; mean (cat) ; o-oah (cough) ; hidd
(hiccough) ; eaish [C.N. yessa^ (sneeze); MngdaJc (snore) ; homdunga
(thunder) ; pak~pakdk (crow of a cock) ; kdke-ok (cackle of a hen) ;
kdng-kong (sound of footsteps). It is, however, doubtful whether
such onomatopoetic words prevail more largely in their language
than in English, where we have such abundance of expressive terms
of this kind, as, for instance, cackle, sneeze, quack, coo, cough, blow,
bang, pop, puff, knock, rat-tat, mew, clap, and the like.

Their faculty for describing any action or object or expressing
any desire by means of signs or gestures has never been sufficiently
exercised for them to possess any prescribed, method. In order
to express to a deaf and dumb person or to a foreigner ignorant of
any of the languages known to them a sentence such as " I want

1 To avoid repetition in this place the reader is referred to Appendix B (a) for
examples of this rule.

2 It is curious to note that the Car Nicohar dialect is one of those in which the
reverse of the ordinary infantile terms for " father " and " mother " is found.
There a child cries mamd to his father and po-po to his mother (#ce Peschel's
«* Baces of Man," p. Ill, and Tylor's " Anthropology," p. 12P).

NICOBARKSE GRA.MMAK. Xlll

a white hat," a man would proceed to raise his hands above his
bare head and indicate the shape of the coveted article, pointing
immediately afterwards to some white object and again to the
imaginary hat on his head. In the course of this pantomime the
man wonld smile and his eyes sparkle and the eyebrows be raised,
and he wonld point repeatedly to himself. To make his meaning
clearer he would conclude by pointing to a black object, such as a
coat, and then to the space above his head and express his dis-
approval of that colour by shaking his head laterally, protruding
his lips upwards and frowning.

In reference to gesture-language it may be mentioned in this
place that the direction of any object or place is of ten indicated
by the mere protrusion of 'the lips, as though to save needless
waste of breath ; while the time of day of any past occurrence or
coming event is denoted to a stranger by pointing with the hand
to that region of the sky which the sun crosses at the hour in
question.

Before commencing to describe the various parts of speech the
following observations may be added.

Boots are clearly discernible in the language. These can best
be discovered and studied by referring to Part II of the Dictionary
where among numerous others may be found words derived from
kai, tai, 1 tain, tan, lain, yd, md, dng, Ac.

Prepositions, postpositions, pronouns, adverbs, Ac., stand
separately and are not combined in the words with which they
are employed, e.g., an Ida ong-slwngha ten ane Idah-hala onlhan,
(he is walking quickly to that lofty tree), where the collocation is
almost identical in the two languages, the only difference being
that the adverb precedes the verb in the Nieobarese sentence.

Many words are capable of being used indifferently as verbs or
adjectives, adjectives or substantives, adjectives or adverbs, Ac.,
e.g., loo, quick, quickly ; mittbi, false, falsehood ; Jcdto, silent, dwell ;
chang, own (aJ/.and verb); St,is, has, present (not absent); hen, time,
when (at the time that) ; kapngatd, remember, mindful ; paitngatd,
forget, forgetful ; kedohnga, another, some other, otherwise,
differently ; loa-tayan, punctual, early (adv.) ; hoi, far (adj. and
adv.) ; while certain words might be mentioned as bearing two or
more totally different meanings, e.g., tafual, pair, 2 six ; ta, touch,
flat ; kdhe, moon, when (interrog.) ; hen, time, when (at the time
that), we (dual) ; he, time, we (of three or more) ; yd, if, to wish,
to (prep.), thither (correl. adv.), Ex. : yd men yd yd Pu, Ac., if you
wish (to go) to Car Nicobar, Ac.

A large number of prefixes, suffixes and other particles are
extensively employed with verbs, adjectives, substantives, and other

1 This word, which signifies" fingers," corresponds to tlie Malay root "tamg**
being applied to a number of words relating to the hand, or to the work performed
with the finger* (#e# W. E. Maxwell's " Manual of the Malay Language," p. 4).

* Ho confusion can, however, possibly arise from this circumstance, as tafual
(pair, couple), is invariably preceded by a numeral.

XIV NICOBAKESE GRAMMAR.

parts of speech. Tlie most important of these are the verbal
suffixes which will be referred to in Section XI (post) where it will
be seen that they present a striking feature in the character and
constitution of the language. As a careful examination of the
subject appears to show that the selection of the particular suffix
in use has, in many instances at least, been determined by no
specific rule, but is the result of arbitrary choice, it is easy to
understand that the chief difficulty in the study of the language is
found to consist in the correct employment of these important
particles.

Compound words are extremely common 1 ; in the case of sub-
stantives they are formed according to the same method as is
observed in Malay and the reverse of that obtaining in English,

hen-hatbm (time-night), night-time.
pcriyuh-blchua (man-jungle), jungle-man.
koi-henyuan (head-hill), hill- top.

Omitting the case of certain classes of substantives compounded
with particles which will he referred to in Sec. II (on " Substan-
tives " ) there appears to be but one exception to the rule regarding
compound words, whether substantives, adjectives, verbs, &c,
which is to preserve the original words as far as possible from
mutilation and not to contract such words into shorter forms, e.g.,
kcwru-f&p (big side) corpulent ; alde-shtang (just-now-sweet) to
become sweet; yd-huybie (wish-intoxicated) intemperate; ddh-
etihngashe (can-recover) curable; ingah-ne-ndng (inform-ear) to
send word ; wl-haiyl-ddh (make-road- water) to drain.

The exception referred to is the case of the majority of the
personal pronouns when employed with the negative adverb (see
Sec. VI, post), e.g. :—

chit (I-not) abbrev. for chiia-hat.
met (thou-not) ahbrev. for men-hat.

Words denoting a diminutive signification such as " manikin "
have no equivalents in the language, nor are there any corresponding
augmentative substantives. By means of prolonged stress on the
accented syllable of qualitative and quantitative words their
meaning is intensified, e.g.: — •

ompen-she (small), ompe^nshe (small indeed).

Jcaru (large), kar-u (large indeed).

pombi-she (old person), pom~bi-she (very old person).

1 As examples of word-compounding among the Nicobarese may be mentioned
such words as dnk-ehakd-fbin (iife-f ace-crossbow), bolt of crossbow j dnha-oal-
hindel (contents-gun), cartridge} moah-toah (nose-breast), teat j y6-huybie~ta%
(wish-drunk-make), intoxicating, heady; ddk-hede (water-fire), any mineral oil,
esp. kerosene ; hwM-kda (fish -scales), is likewise applied to the small silver two-
anna piece ; chdng-heoe (ship-fire), steamer ; chdng-henlam (ship-wheel) paddle
steamer] tandk'rdm (measure-night), sand glass ; hi-inoat (hut-knife), scabbard;
talydh'icoi'kamanrf (coconut-shell-knee), knee-cap. [This last corresponds with
the Malay term tempurong-hdut].

NICOBARESE GRAMMAK. XV

An equally common method is to employ ka' (indeed) as follows : —
chaling (long), chaling-ka' (very long) ;
pamahoa (coward), pamah6a-ka' (a great coward). [See
Sec XVIII, post).

The word dnh (life) is employed to denote human beings when
afloat in the same way in which the word " soul " is employed in
English, e.g., tanai momehiama dnh 6t oal chong one, there are 100
souls on board that ship ; dile ka~bpe-kdi tanai dnh ta-hapdh, the
canoe capsized (and) five souls were lost.

I. — The Article.

Although, strictly speaking, equivalents of the definite and
indefinite articles cannot be said to exist, the former is capable of
being m some measure represented by the demonstrative pronouns
nee and nina (this) and one (that) ; while the latter can be
denoted by the numeral adjective heang (one) or the indefinite
adjective homddh (some).

II. — Substantives.

In denoting number, gender, or case, the substantive undergoes
no inflection or change of any kind. 1 When the plural is not
indicated with sufficient clearness by the context a numeral
adjective is employed, e.g., paiyuh ta-uruhatshe dak itd ta-minyui,
many men came here yesterday, or it is sometimes expressed by
repeating the word, e.g. t powah-pdwah (paddles), shanenshanen
(spears).

Genders relate to difference of sex only, and never to the differ-
ence between animate and inanimate. They are indicated, when
necessary by the terms enkbina (male) and enkdma (female) being
added to the substantive, e.g., wet-enkbina f (drake) ; kapo-mkdma,
(cow).

Oase is indicated either by the position of the substantive, the
use of particles or the juxta-position of two substantives. The
nominative does not necessarily commence a sentence ; when it
is expressed in the middle or end of a sentence it is usually marked
by the particle en or pan being prefixed to the substantive or
pronoun, e.g., chila yuchuh or yuchuh en (or pan)~chua, I am going
home; paitshe homkwbm pan(or eri)-men ten chila (a little give thou
to me), give me a little. The genitive or possessive case is
indicated by the object or thing possessed immediately preceding
the possessor, e.g., chla kdn chila (father wife my) my wife's father ;

1 At first sight there appears to be an exception to this rule in the case of
heng (day) and hatbm (night), for one finds that when employed with a numeral
these words' assume respectirely the forms shinkdm and Mm (or rdm), e.g., We
ddm foan shinkdm, three nights and four days ; but one learns at the same time
that ©Ten when employed with Heang (one) they take the same irregular forms.

XVi NICOBARESE GKAMMAR.

kdn chia men, your father's wife ; due chla chua; my father's canoe.
When emphasis is desired the word chang (own) is inserted before
the pronoun or substantive denoting the possessor, e.g., due chang
chua, my own canoe ; hoptep chang chla kdn chua (box own father
wife my) my wife's father's own box, thus exactly reversing the
order adopted in English. The dative and objective are usually
expressed by the use of the prepositions ten, an, ta, ta-tai, or
the postposition en signifying "to," e.g., homkwbm ta-tai chua,
give me ; olydla ten an, tell nim ; wi an en ta-linhen, make it to-day ;
henduh ta eh, awake him. When the dative and objective are both
expressed in the same sentence the latter takes no preposition, e.g.,
chiia lecit homkwbm pdwah ten an, I have already given him the
paddle.

The equivalents of the Latin ablative are denoted by means of
the prepositions tai (by) j ydl ; yiang-an (with); Ibngto; Ibngto-ten;
chakd; ngatai ; lambngto-tai (from); e.g., an okai-hanga pdwah
longto-ta oal due chua, he took away the paddle out of (Ut. from
inside of) my canoe.

The substantives may be divided into those which are primitive,
derivative, and compound.

1st. Those which are primitive, e.g., hoi (head), due (canoe), ni
(hut), dak (water), cMa (parent).
2nd. Derivative ; those which are formed from Verbs —
(a) by prefixing or omitting an aspirate, e.g. t

hokngok (food) from okngdk (to eat).

holy dl (speech, remark) from olydla (to speak).

hokai (anything brought) from okai (to bring).

horl (any object killed) from orl (to kill).

hong-dng (boiled meat) from ong-dng (to boil meat).

holpdl (weeds) from olpdl (to weed).

omkwbm (gift) from homkwbm (to give).

(6) by adding to or modifying the prefix or first syllable, e.g :

hen l -heat (hooked pole for lowering and lifting bucket, Ac.)
from ha-heat (to hook, &c).

henhet (strainer) from hanhet (to strain).

henet (chisel) from het (to chisel).

kenshin (prop) from kashin (to prop, support).

kentdka (dance) from katdka (to dance).

ta-kapdh (carcase) from kapdh (to die).

tenkdk (lancet) from tomkdk (to lance, puncture),
(c) by prefixing or interpolating the particles ma, om, am, an.
&Q. :

pamahda (coward) from pahda (to fear).

pamamoan (fighter) from pomdan (to fight).

kamatoka (dancer) from katdka (to dance).

1 As may be seen by referring to Part II of the Dictionary the most common
form of substantival prefixes is that of hen, e.g., hen-kian (telescope); henlain (top,
wheel) j hen- kdn (sear) ; hen-skau (scent, camphor) j hen-laridla (rudder) ; ken*
Iowa (ocean), &c.

NIOOBAftESl GRAMMAR XVU

kamapdh (corpse) from kapdh (to die),

hamald (thief) from, kalo (to steal).

menluana (shaman) from erduana (to exorcise ) .

mitua (visitor) from Una (to visit).

chamang (owner) from chang (to own, possess).

damah (guest) from dak (to come).

dandha (whetstone) from ddha (to whet, sharpen).

tamdka (fathom) from tdk (to measure).

tandk-rdm (sand-glass) from tdk (to measure) and rdm

(night).
wane-ni (framework of hut) from wi-ni (to make hut).
womfi-karau (blacksmith) from m-karau (to work in iron).
taik-mop (drunkard) from top (to drink).
pomem (drunkard) from jjem (to drink).
ehanio (whistle) from cMo (to whistle).

(d) by prefixing en, op, &c., e.g :

enpdya (seat, bench) from poya (to sit down).
emdpa (cushion) from ddpa (to spread cloth).
op4op (shawl) from lop (to cover the shoulders).

(a) by suffixing wa or a, e.g. .

halauwa (purchase) from halau (to buy).
topa (beverage) from top (to drink).

(/) by various irregular methods, e.g. : * -
anula (grave) from oaUola (to bury).
chanola (strap, handle) from chlal (to lift).
foang (window) from of oak (to open).
inSla (tale) from olydla (to speak, tell).
lanedtla (final memorial feast) from U&t ^finished).
pamandp (corpse) from pbin-fabp (to die).
dani (cudgel) from odl (to beat with stick).
dinnonha (winner in foot race) from dlan (to run).
Jcanbishe (song) from ikd»ha (to sing).
momikdsha (singer) from ikdsha (to sing).

3rd. Those which are formed from Adjectives —

(a) by prefixing or interpolating the particles w-a, am, m% o», &o. :

moreh (first person or animate object) from or eh (first).

ma~huybie (drunkard) from huybie (intoxicated).

mbmtoma (flock) from bmtom (all, whole).

kamaru (adult) from karu (large).

kamodng (strongman) from kodng (strong).

chombng-koi (tall person) from chbng*kd& (tall).

shanl-toshe (age) from shi-tashe (old).

i rj!jj- 8 wor( } womi corresponds to the Hindustani wdld (fellow) and the Malay
tuhang. Like the latter it precedes the substantive with which it is employed,
e.g. i—toomi-dile (oanoo-maker) j womt-ni (hut-builder) > womhyom (oultiyator) j
womi-ahaneri (spear-maker).

4

XV111 NICOBABESE GEAMMAE.

(b) by means of miscellaneous prefixes, suffixes, and irregular
methods, e.g. ;

kala-hoi-ya (sky) from Mi (far),
Ken-ybiya (drunkard) from huybie (drunk).
pen-teyen-oalmdt (white of eye) from teyen (white).
shbnk (sugar) from shiang (sweet).
paich*hat (a little) from patch (small).

(c) by reduplication, e.g. :

haroh-hardh (anything, something) from haroh (any).

4th. Those which are formed from Substantives, e.g. :
shamayowa (sackful) from shdyo (sack).
mentainya (basketful) from hentain (basket).
ta-pahomle (bottleful) from pomle (bottle).
kamahenwa (a lunation) from kdhe (moon).
kamanuana (a generation) from koan (child).
ta-wetare (tumblerful) from witare (tumbler).
mombngkoa (cupful) from mbngko (oup).
miyai (value) from yai (price).
menkbina (man of a certain race) from enlcbina (male).

And 5th. Those which are Gompovmd —

(a). Compounded of two or more Substantives* e.g. :

koi-pentlla (cemetery).
chuk-m (room).
moah-toah (teat).
fdp-mattai (coast).
hen-heng (day-time).
henre-kenyum (childhood).
padyuh-blckua (jungle-man).
heng-du'-.kdi (umbrella).
katyi-hbin-mattai (channel).
ong-eng-ok'kdp (carapace of turtle).
dnha-oal-yom (vegetables).
dnha-oaUhindel (cartridge) .
chakdrkiduma (edge of dM).
keam-powah (edge of paddle).

(b) Compounded of or with a Verb, Adjective, — Preposition, e.g. :

hcdin-paiyuh (prisoner, lit. arrested person).

opyap-paiyuh (eavesdropper),

dnha-ta~leat-ybk (carrion, lit. rotten flesh).

pua a-dishire~ta~vm (total eclipse, lit. eat- whole-demon).

sMang-oi (perfume, lit. sweet odour).

teyen-fush (steam, lit. white-smoke).

1 The abundance of words of this class can be judged by referring to Part II
of the Dictionary at the words hoi, ohnk, ohdk, chakd, heti, det, moah, &&

NIC0BABES1 GRAMMAR. XIX

ifai-tat (shaving, chip, tic, slice-piece).
oyd*tat (surplus, Ut, allow to remain-piece),
yan-oal (weather).
\en-ydng~ndng (clock, lit. thing-hear-ear).

There is one other class of substantives, winch owing to its
peculiar signification and freqnent employment deserves mention.
In order to denote objects, whether animate or inanimate, of the
$ame race, description, locality, fyc, the substantive, indicating the
object in question, undergoes eertdin inflections or other changes
and modifications of form, which are similar in character to those
shown above under 2 (c), 3 (a), and 4, 1 e.g. : —

heang yuang enkbma, one man.

— — menkbina, one (or more) man of the same race.
an — — two (or more) men of two different

races.
heang yuang enhdna, one woman.

— -*- menkdna, one (or 'more) woman of the same
race.

loe yuang menhd/na, three (or more) women of three different

races.
heang yuang henyum, one child.
— — kamenyuma, one (or more) child of the same

community.
fdan yuang kamenyuma, four (or more) children of four'

different communities.
heang yuang paiyuh, one Nieobarese.

— — penyuh, or pamenyu% one (or more) Meobarese
of the same community.

tanai yuang pameny&h, five (or more) Nicobarese of five

different communities.
heang yuang haling, one foreigner.

— — hamaUnga, one (or more) foreigner of the same
country.

tafual yuang hamaUnga, six (or more) foreigners of six

different countries.
heang noang % not, one pig.
— - — mennota (not) f one (or more) pig of the same

village.
mdt noang mennota (ndt) $ seven (or more) pigs of seven

different villages.

Similarly dm (dog) becomes enmdma (dm) dog or dogs 8 of a

certain village.

1 On referring to Section XI {pott) it will be found that theee same particles
ire further employed in yet another sense.
* These are numeral co-efficients which will be described shortly in Section X.
3 I.e., according to whether it is preceded by hitmg (one) or other numeral.

b 2

XX NICOB ASESE GBAMMAR.

chong (ship becomes chinmonga (chong) ship or ships of a

certain rig.
matted (village) becomes mentai, village or villages of a

certain community.
kentoka (dance) becomes kamentdka, dance or dances of a

certain kind.
kanbuhe (song) becomes kamennbishe, song or songs of a

certain kind*

Ex. : Hiang kamennbishe ta-kbisha an kamentdka ta-katoha ted Mba
wdh$. One kind of song was sung (and) two kinds of dances were
danced by me last night.

III. — Adjictivis.

These, like substantives, are tminfleeted for number, gender, or
case. It is optional to place the adjective before or after the sub-
stantive which it qualifies, e.g., dn yuang lapa kaling, or an yuang
kaling ta-lapa (the two good foreigners), but, as this example will
show, it is obligatory in the latter case to prefix the particle " ta "
to the adjective.

The possessive adjective " own " is expressed by chang (see ante,
Sec. II., Case), or by suffixing "re" or u de" to the substantive,
e.g. : — nl chang chiia, my own hut j an kdtota-oal M de, he.is living
in his own hut ; dak kan ofe ta-oal due re 9 are they all coming in
their own canoe ?

The adjectives may be divided into simple, derivative and com-
pound.

1st. Those which are simple, e.g., lapa (good) 5 karH (large) ;
chbng (high) ; ngong (empty) ; ta (level) ; enh (near) ; hoi (far).

2nd. Derivative— ~Those which are derived from verbs : —

lamlap (expert) from leap (able, can).
mohlwa (long-sighted) from heu (see).

3rd. Tliose which are derived from substantives—

(a) By prefixing the particle ta :

ta-karau (iron) from karau (iron, $.).
ta-chu& (silver) from chud (silver, #.).
ta~onihan (wooden) from onihan (wood, *.).
ta-rtiat (so long, thus long) from rilat (length).
ta-rv,ala (so high) from rtiala (height).
ta-riiala^koi (so tall) from riiala-koi (stature).
ta-rl (so big, thus big) from ri ; dl (size).
ta»ri-fdp (so fat) from r% (size), f up (side)?

(&) By prefixing or interpolating ma, am, men, Ac. :

pamayol (hairy) from puyol (hair) .

menkoan (having many children) from koan (child).

kamdano (having one or more children) from koan (child).

NICOBARESE GRAMMAR. XXI

An irregular form of this is found in cha-mwoahbn (rich) from
ehuaha (property).

(c) By suffixing o, yo, ya t hare :

fdpo (fat) iromfdp (side).

kdno (married, of the man) from kdn (wife).

kbino (manned, of the woman) from kbin (husband).

chataiyo (armed) from chatai (weapon).

enhbinyo (bearded) from enhbm (beard).

miyaiya (costly) from miyai (value).

ong~eng-hare (scraggy, lean) from ong-eng (bone),

(d) An exceptional form is the following :
keoyan (hot) from heoe (fire).

4th. Those which are formed from adjectives, verbs, $*c, by sufficing
la, td, latS, pare, nga, yan, ay an, yantS, she, ashe, hashe, hatshe, tashe,
ngatd, ngayan, ngare, ngashe, ngashl, shitd and shvre}

Ueak-la (drowsy) from iteak (to sleep).

ke~h-id (ill-tempered) see keh.

ore~h-lat6 (senior) from or eh (first).

tey&h-latd (junior) from teydh (new).

inbm-lato (same age) from inbm (together, accompany).

pahda*pare (timorous) from pahda (fear).

doh-nga (suitable) from doh (able, can).

lapd-yan (well, not sick) from la/pa (good).

oyau-yan (lonely) see oyau.

heang-ayan (equal) from heang (one).

akaih-yantd (honest) from ? kai (bring).

karn-she (abundant) from karu (big).

tare-she (due, owing) from tare (more).

wdUshe (sufficient) from f wat (so, thus).

heang -ashe (same) from heang (one).

ydl-hashe (of same sort) from yol (with).

chong-hatshe (smart, quick) from ? chong (ship).

1 The use and significance of some of these Buffixes is illustrated in Appendix
B (a), and in a singular manner in the words for " whole " where we find :—

di-re and di-ngashe *■ whole of a hut or any portable property when in sound
condition, while,

di- shire and di-ngare =» whole of a hut or any portable property when in
unserviceable condition.

di-ngare*$he .*« whole, in reference to entire absence of some quality, sub-
stance, &o.

dilat-shire = whole of any long object.

heang-lars =» whole of the concents of a box, &c,, when in sound condition,
while,

teang-ngare » whole of the contents of a box, &c, when in damaged con-
dition.

heang -le&t-tare ** whole of a set of any kind of objects, e.g., linhen dingareshe
mattai nee hat 61 toak'ta*tain, there is at present no fermented toddy in
the whole of this village.

XXli NICOBARESE GRAMMAR.

tang-tashe (correct) see tang.

ydh-ngato (glad) see ydh.

keh-ngayan (difficult) see k§h.

kompdh-ngare (moribund) from kapdh (die, dead).

do-ngashe (different) from dlo (other).

mand (k)~nga$M (last, hindmost) from mdh (finished).

yuang-shitd (busy) see yuang.

yen-shire (sorry) see yen,

5th. Those which are compound : —

yo-huybie, intemperate (lit, wish-intoxicated).
yo-ngong, nearly empty.
du4a-yd f fertile (of soil) {lit, soil- willing).
chia-ta-yd, fruitful (of tree) {lit, tree- willing).
ta-ta-tai f contagious {lit. touch-hand).
ta-chaM, flat (of bottom of tumbler) {lit level-face).
shiri-hanedl, crescent, {Ut. like-boar's- tusk).
du-mat t dirty, {lit. clay-exterior).
du-ngamat, invisible {lit. shade-colour).
hah-ngamat, visible {lit. air-colour).
t&ka-oky spotted {lit. spot-outside).
paiyuh-ho-oal, tenanted {lit, person-inside).
kodng-oal, intoxicating {lit. strong-inside).
pait-tare, some more {Ut. small-more).
heang-i-chw~enkbma 9 consanguine {lit. same father).
hecmg-i~chia-enkdna t uterine {lit. same mother).
uruhatshe-chuk, commodious (lit. much space).
miyeya~kdn~de, uxorious (Ut. affectionate- wife-own).
hoUdlnga-oabndng, obedient (lit. order-inside-ear).
doh-hnkdh-chakdi flexible (Ut. can-bend-face).
ddh-na-ngoka f eatable (Ut. can-it-eat).

A peculiar word of this class is denahan (alive and well), in
which there is a trace of dnh (life) ; Ex. : 6t denahan na at Lobng, he
is alive and well at Great Nicobar.

The degrees of comparison. — The comparative and superlative
degrees can never be expressed by retaining the adjective in its
positive form and prefixing the equivalents of "more" and "most"
and suffixing "ta" (in sense of "than") as I find has been suggested
as the apparent method commonly adopted.

In the majority of cases the comparative degree is formed by
inserting, substituting, or prefixing tn, e», ong, Ac, to the first
syllable of the positive form of the adjective, and suffixing a, wa,
ya or yo; while in every case the superlative degree is indicated by
suffixing ka' (indeed) to the comparative form, e.g. :

lapd (good), lenpaa (better), lenpda-ka' (best).
chaling (long), chinlinga (longer), chinlinga-ka' (longest).
chbng (high), chvnbnga (higher), chifibnga-ka' (highest).
shiang (sweet), shinneanga (sweeter), shinneanga-ka'
(sweetest).

NICOBARESE GRAMMAR. XXli*

poap (poor), pennoapa (poorer), pennoapa-ka' (poorest).
long- an (heavy), len-ngdna (heavier), lenngdna-ka' (heaviest).
hoi (far), hennbiya (farther), hennoiya-ha' (farthest).
enh (near), ennenha (nearer), ennenha-ka* (nearest).
haru (big), endua; kendila (bigger), endua-ka' (biggest).
mitdnto (short), entdnta (shorter), entdnta-ka' (shortest).
hodng (strong), ong-kodnga (stronger), ong-kodnga-ka'

(strongest).
fubi (thick), fennbiyo (thicker), fennbiyo-ka* (thickest).
pacliau (cold), pmchamoa (colder), penchauwa-ka' (coldest).

There are a few which, denote the comparative degree in an
irregular manner. Of these the most common are : —

enhla, (attaining maturity), ennyula (older), ennyula-ka'

(oldest).
wihla (young), olydla (younger), olydla-hw (youngest).
hedyan (hot), kenongary an (hotter), kenongayan-ka' (hottest).
mienhshe (short), ennaishe (shorter), ennaishe-ha' (shortest).
ompenshe (small), enpechya (smaller), enpechya-ha' (smallest).

The object (or objects) with which the comparison is made is
placed in the dative case, e.g. :

Chua chinbnga-kdi ten (or to) men, I am taller than you; Mta-
meak endua t'Ong-yuang, Malacca village is larger than Ong-yiiang;
men lenngdna-ka' fen he bmtom, you are the heaviest of us all.

To express a diminutive degree the adjective in the compara-
tive or superlative form is preceded by linnd-ngashe ; Mnnd-ngayan,
Ac., 1 (denoting less, smaller), e.g., an linndngayan ongkodnga ten
men, he is less strong than you ; kae-dua-hata-yan signifies " utmost,
extremest limit," e.g., kae-duahata-yan onakodnga an, the utmost of
his strength ; nee due Unndngashe lenpaa-ka' f bmtom, this canoe is
the least good of all.

The property of the English adjectival suffix " ish " signifying
"rather" is fulfilled by the term pen*na (lit. little it) which is
prefixed to the adjective, e.g., chaling (}oTig) > pen-na-chaling (longish).
haru (big), pen-na-karu (biggish).

For the methods of denoting an intensive degree see Section
XVIII (post). .

IV. — Pronouns.

The personal and possessive pronouns are chiefly remarkable for
the expression of the dual number. In common with adjectives and
substantives they are uninfiected for gender, while case is indicated
in the former by the same means as that adopted with substantives.

1 linnd'hala » less (when reference it to height or distance northwards).

linnd-hashe « less (when reference is to shortness or distance westwards).

Ixnnd-haine = less (when reference is to nearness or distance to landing-
place).

linna-hanga « less (when referenoe is to distance southwards).

linndhahat » less (when reference i* to distance eastward*).
E$. an Unnd-hala chxnbnga-koi ten chila, he is less tall than I.

XXIV NICOBABBSI OEAMMAB.

chua i cha, 1 I, also my.

mail ; fne, 1 thou, also thy,

an ; na, 1 he, she, it, also his, her, its.

hen ; chaai, we (dual), a&so our (dual).

he ; chibi, we (of three or more), also our (of three or more).

yol-chua; yoUcha, we (of a community), also our (of a

community).
ind, you, (dual), also your (dual).

if$, you (of three or more), also your (of three or more),
ydl-men ; yoUme, you (of a community), also your (of a

community).
end, they (dual), also their (dmal).
ofe, they (of three or more), also their (three or more).
yb%an, they (of a community), also their (of a community).

The possessive form invariably follows the substantive and is
sometimes marked by the common particle to, e.g., due chua, (or
due ta-chiia) my canoe.

The pronoun serving as the subject of a sentence is sometimes
repeatea, e.g., an hat-ohiih-ta-chakd na Udt, (lit. it not-yefc it
finished), it is not yet finished.

In replying to an inquiry regarding a transitive action the
pronoun or substantive i$ preceded by tux (by), e.g.

CM shdk ndt, who*speared the pig P
Ans. tax tau chua, (lit. by) my younger brother.
ohi koshuenta ten hoan chua, who kicked my child P
Ans. tax an, (lit. by him) he.

It is unnecessary to illustrate case deolension with examples, as
this has already been done in Section II (ante).

In order to express the objective form of the 3rd person singular
when employed with a verb in the imperative mood, ta eh* is
preferred to ten an, e.g. :

1 Theie are mere contracted forma of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd persons singular,
In reference to which fact it may here be pointed out that na has in a recent
work on this subject, been erroneously described as answering to the copulative
conjunction " and." It is more especially substituted for the ordinary form an
when following a vowel, e.g., ka-ishi na shian-tashe na dak e6ta shi chUa, call
me »t whatsoe?er time he may come (lit. he whatsoever time he (may) come,
call tame time me) j y6l*sh%& na itd, he has often been here.

* This applies more especially to verbs having the common suffix hata, but in
the case 01 other transitive verbs having the suffix hala, hanga, hahat, home, or
ha*h$ it is more grammatical to substitute la, nga, ha, ne, or she, e.g. -. —

Oiol-hala (to take out) j owi la ek r take it out !
katchilat-hala (to dig up) ; kaichuat la eh, dig it up !
Unkdh-hanga (to bend) ; len&dh nga eh, bend it !
owhhahat (to screw or drive in) } owl ha eh, screw it in 1
tuak'haine (to, drag) ; tuak fie eh, drag it
tapaih-haine (to spit) j tapaih ne eh, spit it out !
h$nfdk*haihe (to drown, v.t.) j henpok $he eh, drown it!
ip*\athe (to transplant) ; ep she eh, transplant it !

NIC0BABES! GRAMMAR. XXT

hendun ta eh, awake him (or it).
or% ta eh, beat him (or it).
homkwbm ta eh, give him (or it).
yuh ta eh, continue (go on with) it.

For the mode in which the personal pronouns are employed with
the negative adverb (hat) see Section VI.

As a consequence of the communistic principles which govern
their social relations they are not even possessed of such terms as
u \\ n g t »> «« slave," <fec., and do not, therefore, in addressing superiors
and inferiors, adopt the Malay and Burmese cub torn of applying
such expressions, in place of the 2nd person sing, and plur. of the
personal pronoun, but there is an analogous practice whereby
iriends address their seniors (according to their relative ages)
as "elder-brother," "uncle," "father," or "grandfather," their
juniors in Eke manner, as " younger-brother,*' " nephew," " son,"
or " grand-son," and those of like age as haiyuwd (cousin) [see
" Friend," in Part I of Dictionary and App. L], Corresponding
terms of endearment are employed towards each other by females,
and by both men and women towards friends of the opposite sex.

In like manner strangers and casual acquaintances, whether
fellow-countrymen or natives of neighbouring countries, are
addressed by the term mewlh. European officials are styled onvyda
or kaling-omyda (foreign headmen), while den is applied to any
foreigner in supreme authority, such as a viceroy, governor, sultan,
or rajah.

The plural forms of the personal and possessive pronouns cannot,
as is so generally the case in Hindustani and many other languages,
be employed in addressing or referring to a single individual. The
same remark of course applies to the dual forms.

As in Malay the indefinite form " one " is expressed by means of
the word denoting " person, individual," e.g. paiyuh hat doh haroh
hamapdh shirt Bengali, one may (or should) not burn corpses like
Hindus ; paiyuh hat doh hatoka hen mikdsha koi-haM, one may (or
should) not dance while singing the kdi-haki (a solemn chant).

The demonstrative pronouns are nee, nina, this, and ane, that.
Like adjectives, they are uninfiected for number, gender or case,
and they can either precede or follow the substantive with which
they are employed. In referring to objects at some little or great
distance the following are generally substituted for ane ' —

ngdle, if in northerly direction, or higher position.
ngange, if in southerly direction.
ngdhae, if in easterly direction.

ngaiche or ngdshe, if in westerly direction, or lower position.
ngame, if at or in the direction of the landing-place.
e.g., due ngaine chamang-chi, whose is that canoe at the jetty ?

As some misapprehension is found to exist in regard to the use
and signification of certain of the personal, possessive, and demon-

XX VX NICOBAKBS! GRAMMAK.

strative pronouns, the following remarks appear necessary in order
to make the matter clear.

(1). Nina, nee, ane, can never be employed as personal pronouns
and therefore shanen ane can mean only " that spear," and not also
" his " or " their spear."

(2). The pronoun an can never be employed as a demonstrative
pronoun, or otherwise than as the third person singular of the
personal pronoun, e.g. chua poya ta-fdp an, I am sitting beside him
(her, it).

(3). Men and chaai are, as above indicated, not merely the
possessive pronouns of the first person (dual) but are also the
personal pronouns signifying " we two," e.g. kaiiare men ta nl hen
(or chaai), come to our (i.e. of us two) hut ; dak en hen (or chaai)
ta oal-hakl, we two are coming in the morning.

(4). He and chioi are, in like manner, not merely the possessive
pronouns of the first person plural, but are also the personal pro-
nouns signifying "We (of three or more persons)," e.g. M he (or
chloi) our hut (i.e. of us all) ; yuchuh en he, we (of three or more)
are going home. \He can never, therefore, refer to the third
person, as I find stated].

Demonstrative pronouns denoting quantity, number, and likeness
are ta-dlshe, this much, so much ; shlan-ane, that much ; dammah-
tare, this many ; dammdh-tare-ane, that many ; shlri nee, like this ;
shlri ane, like that.

The relative and correlative pronouns are:-—

ka, who, which, what ; shlna, that same (correl.).
chl-chl, ya, whoever; shlna, that same (correl.).
kae, whatever; shlna, that same (correl.).
yota-shlri, like which, yota-heangashe, like the same (correl.).
dinmenshl, as much, as many ; shinmenshl, so much, so many
(correl.).
E.g. paiyuh ka ledt chuh ta-minyui shlna ledi kapdh ta~bng,
the man who went home yesterday (the same) died to-day. [For
farther examples of the use of this class of words see Part I of the
Dictionary].

The interrogative pnMouns are : — -

Chi, who ; ten chl, whom ; tai chl, by whom ; lambngto-chi ;
lambngto-ten-chl, from whom ; chang-chl, chamang-ta-chl, whose ;
chua; chuan ; chin; kd; ka ; kan, 1 what; chnn, which; kd-shln,
like what ; ka-rlshe, how much ; kardm ; katom* how many ; chin-
leang-dlo, what else. E.g. chamangta-chl en enh, whose is this ?
lambngto-ten-chl en enh, from whom (did you get) this? [For
further examples of the use of the above, see Part I of the
Dictionary and Section XIV, post].

The reflective pronoun is de-de, or re-re, e.g., an oflno ta-dede, he

1 In a foregoing footnote (p. xxiy) it was shown that na is frequently employed
euphonicallj in place of an (he) ; in like manner kan is preferred to ka and kd
when followed by a word haying an initial vowel.

NICOBARESI GRAMMAR. XXV11

is beating himself ; ckuan-shi men Ha rere ? why are you striking
yonrself ? or the adverb ha' (indeed) may be substituted, e.g. chila
ha' (or dede) yd itua dahtare, I am going to visit that place myself.
Of miscellaneous pronouns may be mentioned taha'mat-de, either
(the one or the other), as in common use, e.g., ohai taha-mat~de 9 take
either (of them).

V. — Yerbs.

These may be divided into three classes, primitive, derivative,
and compound.

Primitive verbs; dian (to 1 run), iteah (to sleep), heu (to see), doh
(to be able), itua (to visit), top (to drink), ahdh (to know).

Derivative verbs : haiymga (to go away) from haiyl (road) ; hd-
wan (to net fish) from wan (net); "ka-yol (to mix fluids) from yol
(together with) ; iomfual-hata (to tie two coconuts together by
means of their husks) from tafual (pair) ; oreha ; oreh-shishe (to
begin) from oreh (first) ; shomyo (to fill a sack) from shdyo (sack);
due-yo (to travel in canoe) from due (canoe) ; hashdng (to catch fish
in a " hanshdng " weir); homhdn (to catch fish in a '* henhon " trap);
Juir-ru-ngare (to go into the shade), ha-ru-hoi (to shelter, v.i.) ; ha~
ru-ya-hdure (to shade the head from the sun) from du; ru (shade);
hingdp-lare (to yawn) from hingdp(j2wii)\ chamuanga (to go into the
jungle) from bl-chua (jungle) ; na-wd (to bleed) from wd (blood) ;
lan-ddhmat (to water, of the eyes) from ddhmat (tear) ; lok-shamoa
(to sprout) from shamoa (sprout) ; loh-hodng (to perspire) from
hodng (sweat) ; fuk-ddk (to draw water) from ddh (water).

The most common forms of verbs of this class are those having
the prefix " %a n or "&a," e.g. henhoh (cannon), ha-hoh (to fire a
cannon) ; henteha, (sail), hateha (to sail) ; hinwe (flag), haweya
(to fly a flag); henhet (strainer), hanhet (to strain); Jdnwdp (scissors),
hawdp (to cut with scissors) ; henshin (prop), hashin (to prop) ;
henckdp (button), hachdp (to button),

Compound verbs : tuldnghat~ngi~olyola (good-voice-speak), to
flatter; ehe*haletdh (shiver-tongue), to stammer; taiha-onglonga
(cut-neck), to behead ; han-an-ngS (no-say), to deny ; hedohnga-nge
(different-say), to contradict ; chM-toah-GmOrre (suck-breast-parent-
own), to suckle ; ong-yiang-iii-nge (in the company of-hut- voice),
to condole; ong-yiang-chdng (in the company of- ship), to make
a voyage ; orv-ngafdh (beat-die), to kill,

Wl (to make), which occurs in many verbs of this class, conveys
either a transitive or causal signification, wi-ydm (make-
garden), to cultivate ; wi-ta-ta (make level), to flatten, v.t. \
wt-henyum (make-child), to beget ; wi-oh~ni (make-roof -hut),
to thatch ; wi-ta-chyu (make-sweet), to sweeten, v.t. ; m-
hentdng (make-fence), to enclose; wi-ldyan-diie (make-

1 It must be understood that in every case where the meaning of a ISlcobarese
verb is expressed by the infinitive it is merely to indicate its ordinary verbal
form and does not necessarily imply a corresponding modal signification.

XXViii HICOBARESB GRAMMAR.

decorate-canoe), to have a canoe decorated with flags ; tfli-
herm&ng-ngasM (make-mark), to have one's mark of owner-
ship affixed to any object.

Yd (to wish, be willing), tbng (pns), yS4bng (to fester, sup-
purate) ; ybknga (rotten), yo-ybknga (to rot) ; Jmy&ie
(drunken), yo-huybie (to be intemperate).

Aide (just-now, on the point of), aide-beat (just-now-heal), to
become healed ; alde-shlang (just- now-sweet), to become
sweet ; alde-kodng (just- now-strong), to become strong.

Certain verbs compounded with ndng (ear) ; Idh (foot) j tai
(hand) ; kdi (head) ; chakd (face) ; ngi (voice), and mat (surface),
will be found in Section XI, where they have been placed, for con-
venience of illustration, although, perhaps, they should rather be
mentioned in this place.

Men, prefixed to certain intransitive verbs renders them tran-
sitive, e.gr., tbink-nga ; tok*nga (to break, of rope, chain, cane,
<&c., t?.t.), hen-tbishnga, hen~tdknga (to break, v.t.) ; dah~nga j
dak-ne ; (to break, of pot, bottfc, Ac, v.t.), hen~dahnga ; hen-
dakne (to break in pieces, v.t) ; pang-she (to sink, t?.t\), hen-
pang-hashe (to sink, v.t.)

Kdha, which is employed only as a prefix to a certain class of
words conveys a peculiar signification : IMj (to meet, by the
arrival of one of the parties) ; kdha-lbij (to meet, by the
arrival of both parties) ; tuah-chakd (to pull), kdha-tuak-
chakd (to pull in opppsite directions) ; ha-pung-hanga (to
separate, when one party only leaves), kdhd-pung-hanga (to
separate, when both parties leave the spot).*

In addition to the foregoing, a numerous class of verbs both
transitive and intransitive are formed by means of prefixes and
suffixes (see Section XI).

In order to express continuative action the verb undergoes a
certain change of form which will be best explained by the follow-
ing illustrations while the suffix " yande " is invariably added.

top (drink), tennopa-yande, to continue drinking.

okngdk (eat), ngen-noka-yande 9 to continue eating.

iteak (sleep), en-teaka-yande, to continue sleeping.

katdka (dance), ken-tdka-yande 9 to continue dancing.

ikdsha (sing), kennbisha-yande, to continue singing.

ong-shbngha (walk), sMrmonga-yande, to continue walking.

dlan (run), dinneana-yande, to continue running.

olyola (talk), inola-yande, to continue talking.

klchal (swim), kemhula-yande, to continue swimming.

duande (paddle) dennuana-yande, to continue paddling.

wl (make), winnea-yande, to continue making.

et-et (write), eneta-yande, to continue writing.

o^i (beat), dinnta-yande, to continue beating.

aminh (rain, substant.), enminha-yande, to continue raining

NICOBARESE GBAMMAB. XXIX

In order to denote the passive voice the most common method is,
in the case of verbs having a final consonant, to suffix a, and in the
case of those having a vowel for their final letter, to prefix ta, while
the agent is indicated by means of the preposition tai (by). There
are, however, not a few exceptions due apparently to euphonic con-
siderations, e.g. : —

harbk-hata (to burn, v.t.) ; hardka (to be burnt).

pok-hata (to fasten) ; pdka (to be fastened).

ichth-hata (to sew) ; chiha (to be sewn),

harihhata (to shoot with gun) ; hariUa (to be shot with gun).

hakok-hata (to shoot with cannon) ; hakoka (to be shot with

cannon).
hanfbin-hata (to shoot with crossbow) ; hafifbifta (to be shot

with crossbow).
omtum-Mh (to fasten the legs) ; tuma4dh (to be tied by the

legs).
omtum-kodl (to pinion) ; tuma-kodl (to be pinioned).
opydp-hata (to disarm, prevent) ; cpydpa (to be oisarmed,

J>revented).
ya (to inherit) 5 ta-mandya (to be inherited).
i/mdya (to invite) ; ta-imdya (to be invited).
at-laid (to lament) ; ta-atlatd (to be lamented).
wuhata (to make) ; ta-wia (to be made).
ort-hata (to beat) ; aria (to be beaten).
entain-hata (to plait) ; en-tainya (to be plaited)
itua (to visit) ; ta-tueya (to be visited).
okngok (to eat) ; ta-ngoka (to be eaten).
hinchau (to distribute food) ; hinchmwa {to be distributed).
ikdsha (to sing) ; ta-Jcbisha (to be sung).
katdka (to dance) ; ta-hatdha (to be danced).

J5.gr., mumu harilla tax ckiia, the imperial pigeon was shot by me;
homlem ngdka tai an, the Oycas paste was eaten by him ; Knkefi
mattai men ta-tueya tai o/e, your village was visited by them to-
day.

As may be inferred from the foregoing sections, not only number,
person, and gender, bit also mood and tense, cannot be expressed
by mere syllabic additions or inflections. The latter are generally
indicated by means of the following auxiliaries, but in certain cases,
such, for instance, as in denoting the future, where this is sufficiently
clear from the context it is usual to express the sense by the verb
in its simple form, e.g., bl-haM chiha itua mattai men, I (shall) visit
your village to-morrow ; yd met tu chit shwdtare, unless you (were)
ill I (should) not return. The auxiliaries 1 referred to are :—

leat y was, did, has, had.
yuangshito, was (wnperf,).
yuangshito-yanga, had been.

1 See Section XV (« Auxiliaries").

XXX NIC0BAB1S1 GRAMMAR.

yd, will, about to.

enydh (lit afterwards), shall.

Idh ; shbh, let tmperat.)

wot, don't, be-not.

doh, may.

haroh-ta«yande, might.

dohta, should (also must).

The following may be given as the paradigm of aMeobarese verb.
Taking ori-hata (to beat with a stick), we have : —

chila ori (ten an), I am beating (him).

men ori (ten an), thou art beating (him).

an ori (ten an), he is beating (him).

hen ori (ten an), we two are beating (him).

he ori (ten an), we all are beating (him).

md ori (ten an), you two are beating (him).

ife ori (ten an), you all are beating (him).

ond ori (ten an), those two are beating (him).

ofe ori (ten an), they all are beating (him).

chila yuang-shito ori (ten an), I was (lit busy) beating (him).

chila hat ori (ten an)., I have (or had) beaten (him).

chila ledt yuang-shito-yanga ori (ten an), I had been (lit been
busy from) beating (him).

chila yd ori (ten an), I will (am going to) beat (him).

chila enydh ori (ten an), I shall beat (him) (lit I afterwards,
Ac).

Idh (or shbh) chila ori (ten an), let me beat (him).

ori (ta l eh) or Idh men ori (ta e&),beat (him).

Idh (or shoh) an ori (ten an), let him beat (him).

let us two beat (him),
let us all beat „
do you two beat „
do you all beat „
let those two beat (him),
let them all „ „

dohta chila ori (ten an), I should (also must) beat (him).

chila doh ori (ten an), I may beat (him).

haroh-ia-yande chila ori (ten an), I might beat (him).

ori-ta-yande, beating.

ledt ori, having beaten.

oria, beaten.

The Passive form is conjugated as follows : —
chila oric (tai an), I am beaten (by him).

thou art beaten (by him).

hen

» ?»

he

>J >

ind

iJ >»

ife^

» >i

ond

)» 1

ofe

»J *3

an „

?»

he is

hen „

»*

we two are

1 See Section IV (p. xmv) untl footnote.

NICOBARBSE GRAMMAR. XXXI

chiia yuang-shitd oria (tai an), I was being beaten (by him).

chua leat oria (tai an), I was (or have been) beaten (by him).

chua leat yuang-shito-yanga oria (tai an), I bad been beaten (by
him).

chua yd oria (tai an), I am going to be beaten (by him).

child enydh oria (tai an), I shall be beaten „

Idh (or shbh) chua oria (tai an), let me be beaten (by him).
„ „ men „ „ be thou beaten „

„ „ an „ „ let him be beaten „

„ „ hen „ „ let us two be beaten (by him).

&c, <fce.

dohta chua oria (tai an), I should be beaten (by him).

chua d6h oria (tai an), I may be beaten (by him).

haroh-ta-yande chila oria (tai an), I might be beaten (by him).

E.g., mangnge ta~ltawdla tai Man an. The stone was thrown by his
child ; sharudl harilla tai omyda one, the wild pig was shot by that
gentleman (lit. headman or elder).

aia is a term deserving of mention in this place. It is employed
in the sense of " go and " do so and so, but its use is restricted to
the imperative mood ; e.g., ata men milah la-oh taina chila yd iteak,
go and play outside for I want to sleep ; ata he hatoha oal mattai ofe,
let us go and dance at their village.

For particulars regarding the Substantive Verb, reference is
invited to Section XIII (post).

VI. — Adverbs.

In respect to construction there is no prevailing distinction
between these and other parts of speech. As elsewhere pointed out
several adjectives and a few prepositions are employed adverbially,
while the majority of the adverbs are derived either from substan-
tives or adjectives.

The adverbs may be classed as follows, viz. ; — those relating to
(a) time and change; (b) place ; (c) quantity, number, and degree;
(d) manner and cause (each with their respective interrogative 1
forms) ; and (e) affirmative and negative. A few in the a and c
lists will be found to be derived from adjectives and substantives
by mere reduplication.

As many adverbs of time, place, and manner both near, remote,
interrogative, relative and correlative have been enumerated in
Appendix B, it will be necessary in this place to furnish only a list
of certain others of these and other classes which are in common
use: —

(a). Time and Change. —
leat (already).

leat-heang-shud (once before).
mah; mdh (already, ever).

1 For further particular! regarding these, see Section XIV (pott)

XXXli NICOBARESE GBAMMAR.

hat-mdh (never) .

wblto (again).

chiih4a-chakd (yet).

ytiang~hamen (still).

lda~tayan (early).

oyuhta (till).

mlainyan-chakd (as yet).

aide (just now).

enhta (about, nearly).

she (suljix), (just, exactly/.

poa-tdre; yuang-hare (always).

poa-shtre (invariably, without fail).

enh'taycm (soon).

kalak-he (seldom).

y&l-shud (often).

haru-he (sometime).

haru-he-haru-he" (sometimes).

shian-shian-tashe (now and then, occasionally).

dal-dal (repeatedly).

heng-heng (daily).

kdhe-Jcdhe (monthly)

shomenyuh^shomenyuh (half-yearly).

Ida-Ma (quickly).

oreh-chakd (prior to).

enydh (afterwards).

hakl (to-morrow).

shaiyuh (later, some time hence).

shaiyuh-ldng (day after to-morrow).

minyili (yesterday).

wake (last nights).

mg-wahnga (day before yesterday).

heti (when, at the time tnat).

heng-hen (when, while).

ta-sM (how long time, 9 in future, indef,).

ngashi (how long time, in past, indef.).

shi-ngayan ^formerly).

den-ndiiha (for ever).

hmga (ago, in reference to any event or to coming or going

S.).
hala (ago, in referenoe to coming or going N.).
hat (ago, in reference to coming or going B.l.
hashe (ago, in reference to coming or going W.).
hata (ago, in reference to returning).
ha-sM (ago, in reference to a death),
tore, hence.

Interrogative. —

hdhe f when (of future only).
kdhe-ta-shit when (of a coming event).
hdke-ta.tai, when (future, of making, giving, Ac.)-

NICOBARESE GRAMMAR. XXXiii

k&he-ngal&h, when (future, of travelling).

kdhe-nga, when (of past time, In reference to death, sick-
ness).

kdhe-ngasM, when (of some past event).

kdhe-ngata% when (of past time, in reference to making,
giving, Ac.)-

kdhe~ta$he "j

kdhe-tarit >when (of any past event;.

kdhe-ngashe J

he-chua, when (at what time).

Icd-shani-toshe, how long (time).
•latbh, how old.

kd*riia-hanga-heng f how long ago (to-day).

-yan, how long ago (in the past).

kardm~shud, how many times.

kd-inda~atd t how soon.

kd-riiala-heng y what time (o% day) is it ?

-hathm, what time (of night) is it ?

HJ.g. t ydl-shud na Ud, he has often been here.

enydh men kaiyinga tangta en an, he arrived after yon left.

sMan-sMan-tashe ta-heang-heang mentai enkdna ta-lapa-chakd,
from time to time, at one village or another, there is a
pretty woman.

kaita shanen oreh-chaka men yd kaiyinga, take the spear
before you go away.

shorn shinkdm she chiia yd kdto itd 9 1 intend staying here just
ten days.

enhta issdt shinkdm chiia yd kdto ddhtare, 1 propose remaining
there about seven days.

loe tare shinkdm, three days hence.

foan hanga ddm, four nights ago.

tanai hala ddm, five nights ago (went to or came from the
north).

chit mah heu Ufdnta, I have never seen an elephant.

heang hanga kamahenwa kdhngashi na pait- tare-she kdhngashi
na tmh-tareshe (one ago month perhaps it more, per-
haps it less), a month ago more or less.
(b) Place.—

milnho (near).

hoi (far).

tala-chakd (in front)

kdrang-kdi (above, overhead).

ta-ngdle 1 (above; northwards).

ta-nqaiche 1 /t _ , , ■% x

taJgashe* J ( below > ^stwarde).

la-katah (below, down there).

kblde 1 (up above).

kbitde 1 (down below).

enydh~ok (behind).

> See Section XIII.

XXXIV NICOBARISI GRAMMAR.

katah-oal (inside).
Id-ok (outside).
okdUhare (across).
diie-yo (by sea).
kaiyi-shbng (by land).
Mhngashuchuh (somewhere).
chuk~diawa (elsewhere).
dt-hanga-chuk (everywhere).
chuling-she (so far as).

E.g., cha ling she omhan ta-ane kaiyl ta~lapd y as far as yonder
tree the road is good.

Interrogative. —

ka-rua-hanga (how far).
ka-ra-mua-hanga (how near).

(c) Quantity , Number, and Degree. —

hodn~nga (too, over).

pa~fi (too, also, besides).

ngong-tai (quite, wholly).

enhta ; enhla (nearly, about).

enh-tayan ; enh-ianhe (nearly; almost, scarcely).

ytih-ngare (exactly, no more and no less).

hanta (only).

omnam-tarit (together, in company).

Jmmin-dangla (together, side by side).

heang-heang (one by one, singly).

E.g., hanta harra an men dak en chiia itd, I came here only

to see yon.
an pa ta dl an chiia fi, he too beat me.
chiia, pa ta yd fi ta-ane, I too want that.
shom-issdt yumtg yuhngare leat ehwdiare, all the seventeen

persons (i.e., without exception) have returned.

Interrogabwe.^--

ka»rl (how big).

ka-ra-mt (how small).

ka-rl-fdp (how fat; how wide (of ship)).

ka-ra-mi-fdp, (how narrow (of ship)).

kari-tdk (how wide (of plank)).

karami-tdh (how narrow (of plank)).

Jm-chm*ydwa .(how deep).

ka'riiat (how long)

kara-miiat (how short) (inanim.).

ka-riiala (how high).

— -koi (how tall).
%ara'miiala-koi (how short) (anjot.).
karua-hanga-tai (how far off, of object shot, speared, Ac.).
karutare-she ; kari-tat-she (how much more remains).

KICOBARESE GRAMMAR. XXXV

Jcari-kata-ske (how much has been paid, delivered, Ac.).

katdm-tare (how many more).

hd~yan (how, in what state of health).

kd-shm~mu8h~tai (in what style).

ha-sht (what kind, what sort).

E.g., hdyan ha an ta-linhen, how is he to-day ?

(d) Manner and Cause. —

man (accordingly).

an-l&ng-ngasht ; an-ldng-ngitd 1 (therefore).
Jcedohnga (otherwise, differently).
han-tai-ngasht (without cause).
Interrogative. —
chdwe
chuan~$M

— -Idng-ngwhi

— 'Idng-ngitd 1

— -hdn-ngasM

— -han-ngito 1

^ (why).

— -tai~chua

chtian-wi men ta watsM, med met dalngatd, why do you
behave in such a way P aren't you ashamed of your-
self ?

(e) Affirmative and Negative. —

an (yes, to proposition).
a (yes, to request).
6t; hbdde (yes, have, is).
ha-kat* (yes, have, is).
holde (yes, up there).
ngdlde (yes, up here).
hbitde (yes, down there).

5Se } (yes, down here).

mdh; leiit (yes, already, done).
leap; doh (yes, can, able, may),
ange; an-homd ")
an-da-Ua-chu > (all right).

shial *)

dlhZshe } (° e ^ ia] y of cooi *')-

an~ka-pa (donbtloss)
shian-tashe 1 / •• \
MhmgasM ) (Perhaps).

han-an (no — denial, inability, refusal) .

1 See Section XI for the apecial significance of thia suffix ngitd.
* See 8ecticn XIII.

XXXVi NIOGBARESE GRAMMAR.

hat 1 (not).

hat-heang (no, not one).

hat-ot (no, have not, not here, not at home).

wbt (don't, be not).

With reference to the several terms denoting affirmation, it is
necessary to explain that 6t and kbdde are so employed in answer to
an enquiry regarding possessing, having, or being, when one or
other of those words is made use of by the inquirer: e.g. kbdde

ta ane dak, is there any water there ? — Am. kbdde* yes (there is) ;

6t kmn an ten nl re, is he at home ? — Ans. 6t, yes (he is).

toak-ta~tain kakat ta nl men is there any fermented tart in
your hut ? — Am. ka~kat, yes (there is).

Similarly with the remaining words : —

kblde en chia ife (kbl), is your (addressing three or more)

father upstairs ? — Am. kblde, yes (up there), or ngdlde, yes

(up here).
ktritde en koan men (kbit), is your child downstairs ? — Am.

kbitde, yes (down there) or ngdshe (or ngaiche), yes (down

here).
met-mdh itua Kalkata, have you never been to Calcutta ? —

Am. mdh, yes (I have).
ledt kan men vol dile cht'ia, have you finished making my

canoe f — Ans. leat, yes, (I have).
leap men kichal, can you swim P- — Ans. leap, yes (I can).
doh kan ofe katoka ta-linhen, may they dance to-day ? — Ans.

doh, yes (they may).

In like manner the negative form hat-heang (lit. not one) is
employed in reply to an inquiry regarding the procuring or posses-
sion of any objects that may be counted, such as fish, pigs, paddles,
spears, &c, while hat-6t has a more general signification, e.g., (in
reply to " Have you caught any fish ? have you any paddles for
sale ? " &c.) — Am. hat-Mang, no (not one) ; (in reply to " Have
you any shells? is he at home?" &c.) — Ans. hat-ot, no (I have
not, or he is not).

When employed with the personal pronouns 3 the negative adverb
(hat) undergoes contraction as follows : —

chit (abbrev. for chua-hat), I-not.
met meiUhat), thou-not.

1 The extensive employment of this negative in order to signify the contrary
of the word to which it is prefixed may be judged by referring to the long list of
words under " hat " in Part II of the Dictionary. Apparently the only word in
the language which is incapable of use without the negative is hat-sho (to dislike).
The word sho probably originally signified " to like, be fond of, M but it possesses
no meaning at the present day.

- See Section XIII.

8 The only exception is hen-hat, we two-not.

NICOBARESE GRAMMAR. XXXVli

net 1 (abbrev. for an-hat), he -not.
het ,, M-hat), we ail-not.

indt „ ind-hat), you two-not.

ifet „ ife-hat), you all- not.

ondt „ ond-hat), they two-not,

ofet „ ofe-hat), they all -not.

wot „ wl-hat), don't, be-not (lit. make-not).

E.g., het Ida okngok, we are eating slowly (lit. not quickly).

I can find no confirmation of the statement which has been made
that " another form of this negative (i.e. hat) is dit t " or that there
occur such expressions as di-do or dit-doh (to be unable). Should
they not hear of it they will not come, would therefore be yd ofet
(not yo dit) ydng ofet dak.

As it would occupy considerable space to classify and point out
the numerous adjectives, verbs, &c, from which the majority of
the above-mentioned adverbs are derived it will suffice to furnish
the few following examples : —

miinho (near), from enh (near).

chuk-diawa (elsewhere), from chuh (place), diawa (other).
ngong-tai (entirely), from ngong (empty), tax (hand).
ka-riia-hanga-heng (how lcng ago to-day), from ka (what),

rila (height), hanga (ago), her^g (sun).
Jca-ri-t&k (bow wide), from ka (what), r% (size), tdk (wide).
kdhe (when), from fed (what), he (time).
tai-chua (why), from tai (by, because), chua (what)

For adverbs denoting an intensive degree see Section XVIII
(post),

VII. — Prepositions and JrosTrobrj ions.

The most common prepositions are the following : —
oal ; bl, in, into.

ten; ta ; an, in, to, at, on (with respect to any object).
yo, to (with respect to any place).
ta ; ten ; en ; at ; kat, at.

Ibngto; yanga; chakd ; nga-tai; lambngto-tai. from
yol ; ylang-an ; hokaio, with, together with.
yol-sM, besides, in addition to.
hat; tai 2 -hit ; haUyol ; hat~yiang*an % without.
tai, by, by means of.
kae, concerning.

nga-sht, about, in connection with.
yona-ta-kae, for, on account of, for the sake of.
hen~shdt-kae, for, in the place of.
<mydh, after.

1 In denoting the 3rd pers. sing, hat (without any mention of tbe pronoun) is
generally preferred to net, e.y., ch&wehat (or net) dikwhj has he not come?

2 A contracted form of this preposition is seen in kanyut-f it -koala (coat-
without-arms), waistcoat.

XXXVlli NIGOBAKESE GKAMMAB.

heang-e-chuk, among.

mong^yuang^ne, between.

tala-shiaky beside, alongside.

ta-nuak, below in rank,

haroh-tomtare, except.

oyuhta, till, to the time of.

ta-mang t as far as.

ta-tangia-tai ; heang-e-ta% as well as (not less than).

tamat, during (in the course of).

okdl~hare f across.

yoh-ne, through any solid

bak-ne, through any fluid.

There is another class of prepositions relating to place and motion
which are formed and employed after the same manner as their
equivalents in Malay, e.gf. :

(a.) From hoi (head) and Jcoila (bow of ship, canoe, Ac), we
have ta-Jcoi (on, upon) ; ''"'hoi (above, upper side) ; la-koila
(at the bows) ; kbl-ta-kdi (at the top of) ; yo-ta-koi (to the
top of ; Ibngto-koi (from the top of).
(6.) From katah (bottom) we have ok-katdh (outer side of bot-
tom) ; oal-katah (inner side of bottom) ; ta-katah (beneath,
under) ; la~katah (below, in lower place) ; katah-oal (inside
of) ; hbi(ch)~ta-katah~oal (at the bottom of) ; yo-ta-katah-oal
(to the bottom of) ; timgto-ta-katah-oal (from the bottom

of),
(c.) From chakd (face) we have ta-chakd; tala~chakd (in
presence of, in front of), oreh-chakd (previous to) j kbl-ta-
chakd (in the presence of) ; y6-ta~chakd (to the presence of) ;
lbngto*chakd (from the presence of),
(d.) From fdp (side) we have ta~fdp ; tala-fdp (beside, along-
side); kbl-ta-fdp; kbi(ch)-ta-fdp (at the side of) ; yo-ta-fdp (to
the side of) ; Ibngto-fnp (from the side of),
(e.) From chuk (place) we have ia-chuk (in front of, in presence
of) ; tohnga-chuk (off, not on) ; kbl-ta-chnk ; kbit-ta-chuk (in
the presence of here (or there) ) ; yo-ta-chuk (to the presence
of) ; Ibngto-cKuk (from the^, presence of).
(/.) From ok (skin, back), we have la-ok (outside) ; ta-ok (on
the back of); tala-ok; enydh~ok (behind) ; lbngto4a>'6k (from
outside).
The postpositions are few in number: en (to); tashe ; tayan;
shiyan; shitai ; and shito 1 (from).

Examples. — Oal laptl yan-oal shwdtare cha> I will return in fine
weather ; an ktitb at Loong, he is living at Great Nicobar : an kdt'o
ten nl chiia, he is staying in my hut ; homhvbm ta eh ten nee, give
tli is to him ; oyii-hashe kamapdh ta-oal piet, put the corpse into the
ground ; kanta harra an men, only to see (to) you ; chiia yd hateha
yd Lobng, I am going to sail to Great Nicobar ; an leiit shwdtare

1 See Section XI, page iii.

NICOBARISE GRAMMAR. XXXIX

longto Tatdt, he has returned from Chowra; poa4Sre koqn na
yiang-an an, lie always has his child with him ; ekiia kdto yol an, I
am staying with him ; an dale Kokaio an noang shanen, he came
with (Ut. bringing) two spears ; ata men okngok yol chla an, go and
eat with his father ; an shwdtare haUyol kdn de, he returned with-
out his (lit. own) wife ; tai-hit heoe kashl chiia top omhbin, how can
I smoke tobacco without fire ? ; an ta-ria tax chiia, he was beaten by
me ; an Kama hoe Man an, he is enquiring about his son ; chit akdh
ngashi an, I know nothing about it ; a» yd Mang inai tdk rupia
yom-ta-kae due nee, he wants 20 Rs. for this canoe; an pbya
hea%g-e-chuk haling, he is seated among the foreigners ; an poya
tala+sMak chiia, he sat beside me ; an ta-niiak an, he is below him
(in rank) ; tamat kdhe onghe tu en an, he was sick during last
month ; an hen ten an longto la-ok, he saw it from outside ; an ok-
shiahx tala-ok men, he is standing behind you ; an la-ok shdyo, it is
outside the sack ; p'dshe ta-ok chiia, sit on my back ; an ledt orl ten
an tc-chuk chiia, he beat him in my presence ; nlna lebare ta-Mi
mensha oyii, put this book on the table ; an la-koi an, it is above it ;
rupla ta-katah Idh an, the rupee is under his foot ; lebare katah-oal
hoptep chiia, the book is inside my box ; katah-oal oal-ddk, inside
tho wall ; chit leap wi an en,l cannot make it ; minyiii shiyan oyuhta
ta linhen na aminh, since yesterday till now it has been raining;
bng bhhakl shitai an moml ni, he has been building his hut since
this morning ; wake shito men kehio, you have been sulky since last
night.

VIII. — Conjunctions.

In these the language appears to be most deficient. The copu-
lative and is rarely expressed ; when, however, it is employed for
the purpose of enumerating or otherwise. referring to two or more
objects the term used is an-dtawa 1 (lit, it-another), e.g. one nlna
an-dlawa an homkwhm (that this and he gives), he gives that and
this. The disjunctive or, or else is expressed by han-an (no) or
kdh-ngashl (perhaps), the conditional if by yd and unless by yo-haL
Other conjunctions in common use are tai or taina (because), yd-

dohla*ldh (although), homdoh homdoh (either ..... or),

hat'homdoh ...... hat-homd,6h (neither nor), e.g., an

ka one kdhngashi diawa, is it that or another ? homkivbm ane ten
chua haiian nlna, give me that or this.

Examples illustrating the employment of other conjunctions will
be found in Part I of the Dictionary.

IX. — Interjections, Exclamations and Phrases.

Many of the interjections and exclamations, being invariably
accompanied with suitable gestures and modulations of th© voice,
prove very expressive. The most common are : —

1 Another form of this word is p&i'&awa, e.g,, chla chiia loe ytlang Tatat
pendiawa yd-chakd kaiyinga ta-linhen, my father, as well as tho throe Chowra
men, intends to go away to-day.

Xl NICOBARESE GRAMMAR.

we*4 I oh!

cya-hare J (astonishment).

aiya-kare, alas ! (lamentation).

are, oh ! (pain).

d — h (denoting compassion).

sheeh (denoting dislike).

hunh~iwnh-hunh> ngh ! (disgust).

ah-ah-ah, hash ! (silenpe).

e^-e»-e«-c», tnt ! (rebuke, check).

h&sh, pooh ! (contempt).

xAt f hurrah! (triumph)

\ also bravo !
to~chang-td, wonderful !
hah-a-a, there, take it ! (annoyance).
hoh, what a pity !
shlal % go on 1 (encouragingly).
anya-pa 1 there's no saying !
anya-chu j who knows I
Jcdha~tore f never mind, no matter.
ka-shi, what's that ? what's the matter ?
chua Wane, what was that ? (of some startling noise), (to

one companion).
chua kHnd, what was that? (of some startling noise), (to two

companions) .
chua Wife, what was that? (of some startling noise), (to three

or more).
ta-yait-ta-chakd, 1 1 beg your pardon.
chakd he, kife yol, 1 here's to us all, friends ! (a toast at

convivial gatherings).
pehari, all right, don't mention it.
anri'ChUh, the same to you.
kodnga~to me kat f l thank you.

• ^2 I -chai-chachd-ka' 1 (or r tt *, ^
*/"/ % I -chai-cha~rakat). ( '

ydsheme 2 ral

— ind % ra >Grood bye (said by departing visitor or guest).

— ifi % rdj
tawdtse me 2 rakdt 1 )

— ind % — > Good bye (said in response by host).

— ife* — j

chin-da , 8 what d'ye call him (what's his name).
chUan-da/ what d'ye call it (what's its name).

1 The person addressed inTariably responds with pehfiri.

2 According to whether one, two or more persons are being greeted.

8 These are mere so-called M prop-words," which are sometimes employed to
ffl a temporary hiatus while the speaker is hesitating.

NICOBARESE GRAMMAR. xli

X. — Numerals.

Tneir system of numeration is that known as the vigesimal, and
the method employed, thongh at first sight somewhat complicated,
is easily mastered.

Unlike Malay and Burmese the numeral precedes the substantive
with which it is employed.

The chief point to bear in mind is that in counting coconuts
and money, 1 the Nicobarese of the Central 8 Group reckon by pairs
(tafual), scores (inai), and four-hundreds (momchiama), other
objects, save a few shortly to be mentioned under "Collective
numbers," are reckoned by scores (momchiama) $

The term dbktaft when used with reference to coconuts (or
money) signifies 200, but it can be employed only with momchiama
or any multiple of 400 ; it cannot, therefore, be used for arjy smaller
number of such class of objects than 600. When, however, it is
employed in reference to other objects, e.g., men, huts, canoes, &c,
this term (dbktai 9 ) signifies 10, but it can, in like manner, be used
only with momchiama or some multiple of a score; the lowest number
for which it is employed is, therefore, 30, e.g. y heang momchiama dbktai
loe inai tanai tafual (yuang 41 oyau) (lit. 400 -f 200 •+• 3 scores -f 5
pairs coconuts) = 670 coconuts.

Heang momchiama dbktai tanai (danbi 4 due) (lit. 20 -H 10 -f- 5
canoes) = 35 canoes.

The words tanai (5), inai (20), and dbktai (10) are evidently
derived from to* ; kanetai, fingers. 6

1 Edible, birds* nests, of which a small quantity are annually exported are
also reckoned by pairs.

8 A study of the comparative table (Appendix C) of the numeric terms
employed by the six tribes shows that while the Central and Southern Groups
(including the inland tribe) count by "scores" and "four-hundreds," the
natives o? Teressa and Chowra reckon by " scores," " two-hundreds," " two-
thousands" and (at Chowra only) '*four*thousj.ids," and those of Car Kicobar
by "scores," "two-hundreds," "four-hundreds," " two-thousands," and "twenty-
thousands." The presence in the last-named dialect of the term Idk to denote
10,000 pairs (20,000) of coconuts creates at first sight a suspicion that it is
borrowed from the Hindustani lakh (100,000), and mis-applied in adoption, but
as we find that the Malays employ sa-laksa (derived from the Sanskrit laksha,
100,000) to* denote 10,000, it may be reasonably inferred that the Car Nicobar
term is of Malay origin. The fact of extensive individual transactions in coco-
nuts with traders having been always hitherto confined to that island —the exports
from which exceed the aggregate of the rest of the Group — sufficiently explains
the absence in the other dialects of any single terms denoting more than two or
four thousands.

3 The double use of the terms momchiama and dbktai creates no confusion
when it is known to what object the speaker refers

4 See the list of numeral co-efficients on page xlv.

* Strange to say they possess, now-a-days at least, no specific word for "hand"
or " foot," the terms employed being as follows : — ok-tai (back of hand) : oal-
tax (palm of the hand) j kanetai (and tax) (finger) j kodl <arm, including tha
hand). Similarly Mh (leg, including the foot); oJc-ldh (the instep); oal-ldh
(sole of foot) ; kaneldh (the toes). In Malay also the same word serves for
both "arm" and "hand."

xlii NIC0BAB1SE G1AMMAK.

In furnishing tlie following list of the numeric terms employed
by the natiyes of the Central Group it should be noted that ( b )
indicates those which are applied to coconuts and money, and (•)
to all other objects; where inai and tafual are shown within
brackets it denotes that they may, in such cases, be left to be
understood.

1. heang.

2. h heang~taf&al ; Hn.

3. ^teang-tafiial-heang ; *U$ (or Me).
4 Mn-tafOal; Joan.

5. h dn-tafual-h§ang ; Hanoi.

6. Hoe4afual ; HafUah

7. h loe4afiial~heang; Hssdt.

8. ^foan-tafwd; *mfoan}

9. yoan-tafual-heang; *heang~hata.

10. Hanai»tafa>al ; *Mm,

11. h tanai-tafwd*heang ; *sJwm~h§ang.*

12. *ahbm-dn; Hofuol-taftial.

13. *8hbm-*lde.

14. ^shrnn-foan; Hmdt4af&al.

19. *8hom-h6ang-hata ; *h&ang-hata4af1bahh§ang.

20. *heang-momchiama ; *heang-inaL

21. *hmng*momchiamarheang $ *heang-inai-heang.

26. ^heang-momcMama^tafilal ; *heang-inai4oe (4afual).
34. ^hmng-momchiairia-dbktai-fdan ; h heang-inai~i88&t {-tafuaV).
60. ^Ide-momcMama ; Hde-inaL
100. •towat-mcwMjMama ; Hanai-inaL
220. *8h£rni-tea7t$-7n#mcMaina ; *8hbm-heang-inai.
400. %eang-inai-momeMama ; *heang-momchiama.
1,000. *an4nai~8hbm~momch : iaMa ? h dn-momchlama-ddktai t
s 3,000. Hssdk-momehtama-dhktai.
5,010. Hhhm'dn'mmncMama'dA}Mai4anai4afuah
5, 100. Hhbm-dn-momcMama-dbktai-tanai^-inai) .
20,000. h dn4nai4anai-momrMama.
40,000. tyatwt-tttat-woraeMama.
100,000. h 8Mm^dii~inai4anai-tafiM-momcMaiiM (t.e., 250 x 400).
200,000. h Matig4nai4anai4om^7ncmchlama (i.e., 25 X 20 x 400).

To denote that a round number is referred to the term yuh-ngare
(no more and no less) is sometimes added to the numeral, e.g.
heang -Tnamchtama yuang oyau yuh-ngare, exactly 400 coconuts.
When the numeral referred to falls short of some round number the

1 Probably derived from (in (2)>ff>an (4).

8 Of the b»x dialed* two only (viz., those spoken at Car Nieobar and by the
inland tribe o£ Great Nieobar) express the numerals from 11 to 19 inclusive,
according to the Malay system, viz., 1-10, 2-10, 3-10, &c, the remaining four
dialects adopt the Burmese method, viz., 10-1, 10-2, 10-3, &e.

51 As they never have occasion to count anything except coconuts beyond
1,000, it is unnecessary to furnish the higher numerals for other objects.

NIOOBARISI GKAMMAB. xlift

word tangla (to reach) is employed, e.g. loe tare tangla heang-inai
(lit, 3 more reach one score) = 17. 1 #

No conjunctions are employed in expressing numbers involving
the use of several numeral terms, e.g. dn momchiama enfoan inai
tanai (tafual) = 2 X 400 + 8 X 2.0 + 5 (pairs) = 970.

In order to express "only" a certain number or measurement
the particles ma, am, <fcc., 2 are used as follows : —

heang (one) ; hemeang (only one) ; heang tamdka (I fathom);

hemeang tamdka (only 1 fathom).
dn (two) ; dnma (only two) ; enndyo (2 fathoms); mennd/yo

(only 2 fathoms).
tite (three) ; lamue (only three) ; lennbiyo (3 fathoms); lamen*

nbiyo (only 3 fathoms).
foan (four) ; fomoan (only four) ; hennoanno (4 fathoms) ;

mahennoanno (only 4 fathoms),
tanai (five) ; tamanai (only five) ; tenneyo (5 fathoms) ; tamen-

neyo (only 5 fathoms).
tafual (six) ; tamafual (only six) ; tenfualo (6 fathoms) ;

tamenfualo (only 6 fathoms).
issdt (seven) ; missdt (only seven) ; enshdto (7 fathoms) ; men~

shdto (only 7 fathoms).
enfoan (eight) ; menfoan (only eight) ; enfoanno (8 fathoms) ;

menfoanno (only 8 fathoms).
hedng-hata (nine) ; hemeang -hata (only nine) ; heang-hata

tamdka (9 fathoms) ; hemeang~hata tamdka (only 9

fathoms).
shorn (ten) ; shambm (only 10) ; shinndmo (10 fathoms) ; shamin

ndmo (only 10 fathoms).

Ordmal numbers.

As will be seen on referring to the Calendar 3 in Appendix D the
ordinal numbers, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, <fea, denoting the days of the
month are expressed by the mere addition of tho suffix u she " to
the cardinal. Only, however, in this sense and in order to denote
the 1st, 2nd* 3rd, &c, day (or night) since any event can this suffix
be so used, e.g. Unhen dmhe ddm na letit kaiymga, this is the second
night since his departure.

1 In lieu of tliia phrase Be tare t4k inai has been given in a recent work on
this subject, and the explanation there afforded is that it signifies " 3 less than
20," and tare is given as meaning less, whereas it can only bear the opposite
meaning. The sentence, moreover, conveys no meaning of any kind to a native.

2 See Sections II and III, pages xvi and xx, also Section XI, page xlvi.

3 On referring to the Calendar in Appendix D, it will be seen that this
remark does not apply to the terms denoting the days of the month where
by means of the suillx "she" added to the cardinal numbers the various dates
(1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, &c, days of the moon) are indicated.

N.B.— Appendix D hero referred to is included in the Monograph on
the " Nieobar Islanders," in course of publication.

xMv NICOBABESE GBAMMAK.

In order to express 1st, 2nd, 3rd, Ac, in any other sense, such at*
in a race, row, &c., the following few terms are used, and these
even are so rarely employed as to be known only to the more
intelligent natives : —

1st, mareh.

2nd, tanoe~ok-moreh.

3rd, mong-yuang-ne.

4th, tande»ok-mong~yuang»nr

5th, menydh.

6th, f meny&h-ka't also

and last \ mand(k)-nga-$Man*

The only explanation (if such it can be regarded) which has been
afforded by way of accounting for so meagre a list of ordinals is
that the number of " moons " in a monsoon never exceeds 6 or 7,
while neither in denoting the result of their canoe races nor in any
other connection, do they experience the want of any higher ordinal
numbers.

Fractional numbers*

These are expressed in an imperfect manner : —

Mang-moltcania = f .
heang~mic\eya = -J ; f ; \\ ^, Ac.
loe-misheya = f ; f ; f.
heang-heang-molkdnla = If.
dn-teang-mwteya ~ 2 J (or thereabouts).

Collective numbers-

For the purpose of denoting pairs or sets of four or more of
certain objects the following terms are employed : —

tafual, in reference to a pair of coconuts, rupees, or edible bird's
nests.

t&k t in reference to a pair of bamboo utensils containing shell-
lime.

amok, in reference to two pairs of (i.e. 4) bamboo utensils con-
taining shell-lime..

amok, in reference to a pair of cooking pots.

kamintap, in reference to a set of 4 or 5 of the smallest size of
cooking pots (see Appendix N, item 102).

noang, in reference to a set of 10 pieces of tortoiseshell, e.g. dn
noang ok-Mp t two sets (i.e. 20 pieces) of tortoiseshell.

Such phrases as "by pairs,*' "by scores/* "by four-hundreds,"
are rarely used, but would be expressed as follows : —

by pairs, Mang-tafual-heang-tafiial.

by scores, heang-inai-heang-inai.

by four-hundreds, hiking'immchtama-hearig-moinckiama.

NICOBAKESI GRAMMAP. xlv

Mecurrent time.

Shud is the term most commonly employed as the equivalent for
the English " times," e 9 g. fdan shud, fonr times; but several other
terms are in use, each of which, however, can be employed only in
a certain sense, e.g. loe kota-tai = 3 times (in reference to hammer-
ing or other hand-work).

foan ko~chat = 4 times (in reference to jumping).

tanai ko-nga~ldh = 5 times (in reference to going).

tafual ko-ne-nge ss 6 times (in reference to talking, singing, «o.).

an ko-sM-chakd = twice (in reference to eating, &e.).

dn ko-ste-dnha as twice (in reference to washing, 4c).

Numeral co-eMdents.

Among the many facts connecting the Nieobarese with the Indo-
Chinese races is the existence in full force in all their dialects
(including that of the inland tribe) of the system which requires in
the enumeration of objects the employment of a term — known to
grammarians as numeral affixes or auxiliaries — descriptive of the
particular object referred to.

These co-efficients are invariably inserted between the numeral
aud the substantive and not after the latter as is always or generally
the case in Burmese and Malay.

(1.) yuang 1 (fruit); koi (head); tat; tat-y&ang; tat-koi are
used in reference to mankind, 8 e.g. dn yuang Pigu (two
Burmese) ; loe koi koan (three children) ; heang tat kenyum
(one child) ; foan tat~yuang Maldyu (four Malays).

(2.) noang (cylindrical) is applied to animals, birds, fishes,
insects, fruits, eggs, spears, boxes, baskets, ropes, legs,
fingers, lips, nose, eyes, teeth, dhas, fish-hooks, rings, seeds,
Ac, dn noang kda (two fishes).

(3.) tdk (wide), in connection with flat objects, e.g. planks,
paddles, coins, tortoiseshell, finger-nails, leaves, feathers,
cloth, clothes, thatch, also cooking pots and fishing nets, e.g.
heang tdk powah (one paddle).

(4.) hen s in reference to dwellings and other buildings, dn heft
nl (two huts).

(5.) chanang? to trees, posts, hairs, Ac, loe chanang onthan (three
trees).

(6.) danbi* to ships, boats, canoes ; foan danbi chdng (four
ships).

1 The Car Nieobarese equivalents of these are respectively as follows : — (1)
taha; (2) nbng : (3) tdk; (4) momti; (5) md ,• (6) nbng ; (7) Mhh; (8)
lamndha and turn ; (10) chumvl ; (13) milima.

3 Also to the carved wooden figures (called kareau) representing men and
women, and which serve as charms to scare away the demons.

8 The original meaning of this term is not known to the present inhabitants.

xlvi NICOBABES! GRAMMAK.

(7.) hinle, 1 to bamboo utensils containing shell -lime.

(8.) torn (bunch), to bunches of plantains, betel-nuts, Pandantis,

&c., or to single pineapples and papayas.
(9.) manoal (also mohonka), to bundles of prepared Pandanus or

Oycas paste.
(10.) pomdh (bundle), to large bundles of split cane, also to the

large trimmed bundles of imitation firewood offered by

mourners at grave.
(11.) mekuya, 1 to small bundles of cane, ten of which equal one

pomdh.
(12.) minol (bundle), to small bundles of firewood.
(13.) lamem, 1 to bundles of Chinese tobacco.
(14) amoha, 1 to books only.
(15.) chaminhda, 1 to ladders only.

(16.) shamanap, 1 to pieces (of say 40 yards) of calico, &c.
(17.) kamildng, 1 to ropes and fishing lines.

To the aboye may be added the following : —

het-noang % (used with ni-nau, green coconut) in order to express
distance by sea, e.g. foan hst-noang m-ndu h§ tang (we could
arrive there in four green coconuts* time).

hohbf (used with maiyd, take a betel-quid), in order to indicate
distance by land or time spent on a visit ; e.g. loe hohbt ind
maiyd tang (you two could reach that place in three betel-
quids* time).

XL— Pabticlis, Prefixes, and Suffixes.

Both in the formation of words and of sentences there is an exten-
sive employment of certain particles, some of these merely serve
purposes of euphony, while others play a very important part in
the genius of the language. The principal particles are ta, en (or
pan) , ma? am, om, mo, mi, an, na, ha, &c. In the foregoing pages
(Sections II, III, and IV, pp. xvi to xx, and xliii) the use and signifi-
cance of these latter (viz. : ma, am, &c.) have been indicated. It
has been shown that in the majority of cases words formed from
substantives, adjectives, and verbs, by means of one or other of
these particles denote the agent, object, or characteristic signified,
examples of these being, kamapdh (corpse) from hapdh (die); komo~

1 The original meaning of this term is not known to the present inhabitants.

3 See section on "Astronomy" (" Nicobar Islanders," in course of publication).

8 It seems desirable to point out in this place an error which has found its
way into a recent work treating on this subject. In referring to jNicobarese
word formation and to its characteristic feature of inserting in or prefixing to
the root certain letters and syllables, it is stated that by far the most common
of these is the letter m, as an illustration of which the word met-chai-ckachd-ka.
is cited as signifying t " to greet." This word, however, denotes "how d'ye do "
(addressing one person), being the contracted form of mm'et-chm'chackd*ka\ In
addressing two persons the expression is indt-chai~ckackd-ka' t and in greeting
three or more persons, ifit-chai-ckachdrha' (see Section IV, page xxiv).

NICOBARBSE GRAMMAR. xlvii

fcw(i) (bather), from kolai(j) (to bathe) 5 mitua (visitor), from
itHa (to visit) ; pamahoa (coward), from pahoa (fear) ; damdk
(guest), from dak (come) * f chamang (owner), from chang (possess) ;
kamaru (adults from karu (big) j miyai (value), from yai (price) ;
lamiap (expert), from leap (able, can) ; pamayol (hairy), from
puyol (hair) ; menluana (shaman) from enluana (exorcise) ; mbm-
toma (flock), from bmiom (all) ; mik&sha (singing), from ikdsha
(sing) ; miteak (sleeping), from iteak (sleep) ; chamuh (going home),
from ch&h (go home) ; kamennbishe (song of a certain kind), from
kanbishe (song) ; kamahenwa (a Innation), from kdhe (moon) ;
shamanedl (spoonful), from shaneal (spoon) ; mentainya (basketful),
from hentain (basket) ; na-wd (bleed), from wd (blood) ; ha-yol
(mix fluids), from ydl (together with) ; oreha (begin), from oreh
(first).

The most peculiar feature in the application of certain of these
particles is found in their combination with numerals and with the
Nieobarese standard of measurement, the fathom or arm-span,
where they express the meaning of " only," e.g., heang (one),
hemsang (only one) ; foan (four), fomoan (only four) ; issdt (seven),
missdt (only seven) ; enndyo (two fathoms), menndyo (only two
fathoms), tmfualo (six fathoms), tamenfualo (only six fathoms), &c.
(see p. xliii).

Another particle in most common use is ta. Its employment in
the formation of the passive voice of certain verbs has been pointed
out in Section V (p. xxix). It also occurs euphonically in such
verbs as wi-ta*ta (to flatten) ; wi-ta~chyu (to sweeten), where wi =
make ; ta, level, and chyu, sweet. It has also been shown in Section
III (p. xx), to be employed in the formation of a certain class of
adjectives from substantives, e.g., ta-onihan (wooden) ; ta-karau
(iron, adj.), &c.

In the numerous Mcobarese sentences furnished in these pages
its frequent occurrence will be noticed ; take for example : an kdto
ta oal nl de ta linhen, he is living in his own but to-day ; dak kan
ofe~ ta oal due re ta shaiyuh-ldng, are they all coming in their own
canoe on the day after to-morrow ? where, in accordance with the
unwritten, but none the less recognised laws of Nicobarese diction,
all four ta's are employed euphonically.

This particle (ta) also occurs invariably in construction where the
adjective or adverb follows the word which it qualifies, e.g. paiyuh
ta lapa (a good man) ; chbng-koi ta karu (very tall).

In other cases it is made to serve the purpose of some preposition,
and can even in certain conjunctions be employed in place of a
relative pronoun, e.g. shdn-hata ten an en chia chua ta chumfdka ta
oal-tai re (shampoo to him father ray pectoral-disease palms own),
my father shampooed him with his hands on account of his suffering
pain in the chest ; hen-nat nl ta lopta-len-mfyfa, decorate the hut
with ail kinds of cloth ; Idk he haishbt ta yd re ta hokngok-hare, let
us choose what we want for our food ; ndk ta neng4a~chiha ta
kamapdh, tie the ornamental loin cloth round the corpse.

En (or pan) as pointed out in Section II (p. xv), is the sign of the

Xlviii NIC0BAK1SE GRAMMAK.

nominative case when the substantive or pronoun occurs elsewhere
than at the commencement of a sentence, e.g., ledt en (or pan) chiia,
I have finished (eating, working, &c), pen is sometimes substituted
eophonically for an, e.g., pen-dtawa ; an-dlawa (besides, as well as) ;
ledt pen-dah ; hat an-dah, it's quite finished; chia an hodn men
pendiawa yanga shwdtare, his father, as well as your son, has just
returned.

There are a great variety of prefixes ana w amies employed with
verbs, adjectives, substantives, <fcc, the most important of these, so
far as they affect the words with which they are employed are the
verbal prefixes and suffixes ; the property of the former is in many
cases to intensify the meaning of the word with which they are
employed, while in the case of the latter they frequently serve as
adverbs of direction or motion. As examples of verbal prefixes we
have : oh, op, ong, o, bl, en, et, met, ten, pom, torn, i, nga, ha, ha, toko,
yu, hen, 1 kdha; oh-ldh (avoid, shun); op-top-hata (drink off);
ong-f&ng-hashe (cut down) ; ong-shbng-ha (walk) ; o-taih-hata
(slice) ; o-yu-hashe (put down) ; bl46l (carry on head) ; en-tan-
ngaldh (push away with the feet) ; et-koai-hata (scrape off) ; et-tat~
hanga (efface) ; met-pata-she (to sin) ; ten-fdt-hanga (to dash) ;
pom-ydm-she (overload) ; tom-ch'iia-ngayan (defy) ; i~ddha (sharpen) ;
nga-kok-ngare (disperse) ; ha-teha (to sail) ; ha-yol (mix fluids) ;
ha~leat-e (swoon) ; ha-wap (cut with scissors), ha-shin (to prop) ;
loko-shbng-ha ''wander about) ; loko-yd-lange (converse) ; yu-chuh
(go home).

With regard to verbal suffixes it will be found convenient to
divide them into three classes ; in Class I are included : —

(a) hala; hanga; hahat; hashe; haim; hata.

(b) lare ; ngare ; hare; shire; wire; tare.

(c) h; nge ; he; she; ne ; te.

(d) la; nga; hat; she; ne; ta,

(e) at ; ang ; ahat ; aich ; ain ; ac.

In Class II are placed the following : —

Tai (hand) and nga*tai ; Idh (leg, foot) and nga-ldh ; hoi (head)
and nga-koi ; ndng (ear) and nga-nang ; chahd (face) and nga-chakd;
nge (voice) and nga~nge ; mat (surface) and nga-mat.

In Class III occur those which per se possess no meaning, viz. : —
shl ; ta~shi ; nga~shi ; ne-shi ; hanga-shi ; to ; ta-to ; nga~to ;
yanto ; tore; toh ; yan ; yande; ngayan ; ngange; ngashe; ngala ;
hatshe ; tarit ; ngarit; ha; wa; ya ; yo ; shu; sho ; de.

Examples of those in Class I will be found in Appendix B ( a ),
where, and in Part II of the Dictionary, it will be observed that in
verbs indicating motion the suffixes hala, lare, le, la, and al f convey
a northward or upward signification, while hanga, ngare, nge, nga,
and ang, denote southward; hahat, hare, he, hat, and ahat, east-
ward: hashe, shire, she, and aich, westward or downward; haine,

1 See Section T, pp. xxviii and xxix.

NICOBAKESE GRAMMAR xlix

Hire, ne, and am, towards the landing-place ; and hata, tare, te, ta
and at, towards any direction.

On further examination of the lists of verbs bearing one or other
of the suffixes in question, one finds that in several instances these
appear to be employed somewhat arbitrarily, no special reason
being assignable for the selection. This will be seen on studying
portions of the following list, especially words with hanga, fiat,
kahaty hare, and ngare :—

hala, hedde-hala (eructate) ; haickQaUhala (excavate).

lare, eydm-lare (draw breath) ; chuah-lare (embark) ; puah-

lare (eat meat) ; homdu-lare (flow, of the tide).
la, chal-la (explode) ; tah-la (float) ; ko&h-la (stiffen).
hanga, ko-cheh-hanga (sprinkle) ; lenkdh-hanga (bend) ; eU

stech-hanga (clean, with water) ; wi-hanga (do).
ngare, teah-ngare (go to sleep) ; md-ngare (take leave) ;

hop ^ngare (take hold).
nga t heh-nga (fly away) ; haiy%*nga (go away) ; ngbih-nga (burn) ;

poafa>nga (drown, vA.) ; hodh~nga (famish) ; shup*nga (set,

of sun, moon, Ac.) ; yam-nga (disappear) ; chip-nga

(evaporate) ; chuah»nga (dismount) ; dian-nga (rim away; ;

yuit~nga (dissolve) ; kwbnp-nga (emaciate).
ha-hat, owi-hahat (drive in nail, screw, &e.) ; kantue-hahat

(export).
hare* tenchut-hare ^burrow, of rats).
hat, chuah-hat (disembark) ; nyuam-hai (shrink, of cloth) ; chot-

hat (enter).
hashe, henpok-hashe (drown, v.t) ; haichuaUhashe (dig) ; ep-hashe

(transplant) ; ingah-hashe (slander) ; hafen-hashe (fill a

pillow).
shire, ngol-shvre (bow down) ; ten-chut-shire (burrow, of crabs).
she, yam~she (disappear) ; shup-she (set of sun, &c.) ; pom-fuh-she

(drop, v.L) ; chip-she (evaporate) ; owl-$he (unfurl).
hame, owi-hairie, (take out nail, screw, &c.) ; itosh-hai/He (extract

thorn, &c.) ; tuak-haine (drag) ; iydh»haine (slacken) ;

tapaih-haine (expectorate).
nire, ten-chuah-nire (embark from landing-place) ; aheh~nire (take

an aiinng).
ne, wud-ne (flow) ; dang-ne (transfix) ; dak~ne (break) ; fok-n^e

(chafe) ; hoh-ne (burst).
hata, top-hata (drink), hetot-haia (drag towards one's self) ; or*-

hata (flog) ; oto-hata (sit, of poultry) ; k&m-hata (find) ;

hantue-hata (import) ; et~haia (sketch).
tare, ylang^tare (bring or take with oneVself),
ta, chiiap'ta (slash) ; hashd-ta (alter).

Of these by far the most common in use are verbs with lumga
md hata. Generally speaking the meanings which appear to be
assigned to these several suffixes are as follows :- —

d

mCOBAKKSE GRAMMAR.

hala, 1 tare, la, U, motion upwards, out of , to a higher level.

hanga, 1 ngare, nga, motion from one's-self .

ha-hat, 1 ha/re, hat, motion inwards.

hashed shire, she? motion downwards, to a lower level.

haine, 1 wire, ne % motion outwards or away.

hata, 1 ta, on the same level ; motion towards one's-self.

The following occur in Class II : —

tai (hand) refers to what is done with the hand, by force, Ac.,
e.g., kwdpta-tai (clutch through fear or rage) ; alde-beat-tai
(heal, v.t.) ; hodh-nga-tai (starve, v.t.) ; haichang-nga-tai
(teach any handicraft).

Idh (foot, leg), refers to travelling, moving, and the like: d*nge~

Idh (leave, depart) ; ta»foish*s7w~ldh (slip down) ; diie-ldh

(travel in canoe) j oreh-nga^ldh (go in advance) ; lung-nga m

dh (drift away seawards) ; okai~nga~ldh (take away) ;

aiyikuti-nga-ldh (drive away).

kdi ( lead); refers to anything relating to the head, top, Ac.: ka-
bpe-kdi (capsize) ; kenyuor-nga-koi (cover a pot).

ndng (ear), refers to hearing, relating, and the, like: oltdUnga-
ndng (describe) ; holtdlnga-oahndng (obey) ; haloh*nga~ndng
(banter) ; himdnga-ndng (caution) ; hai-yiti»nga~nd/na (de-
ceive).

chakd (face). This suffix occurs in a large number of words con-
veying wide distinctions of meaning : yd-chakd (intend) ;
yoUchakd (aid) ; or$h-chakd (proceed in advance) ; chtm~
nga-chakd (lose one's way) ; dal~chakd (be bashful) ; dk~nga>-
chakd (blush) ; enfua~chakd (dream) ; liamd»chakd (inquire) ;
dah-chakd (covet) ; et~chai~chakd'Ubare (read aloud, lit. greet
book or paper).

ng4 (voice) refers to speaking and the like : ong-y$ang*M-ng$
(condole) ; kedohnga-ngi (contradict) ; kdhd-wati-nge (dis-
agree) j opyap-nga^ngi (eaves drop) ; pdwa-nge (echo) 5
poehi-hat-nge (prattle).

mat (surface) refers to anything relating to external parts, e.g.,
skin, surface, Ac. ; ifdh*nga»ma£ (brash any surface) ;
kalocvpa~mat (smear with turmeric) ; et-tat-mat (wipe) ; et-
stech-nga-mat (clean) ; ddk-o-mctf (water, of the mouth).

Examples of Class III are : —

sM, edta~shi (call, summon) ; hodah-shi (admire).

ta-shi, henyoLtashi (add).

ngQ~shi, harra~ngashl (nurse) ; oltdl-ngashi (describe).

tiesM, %ngah~fi,e~shi (confess).

hangashi, hakah-hcmga-sM (damage).

1 With few exceptions verbs having these suffixes are transitive.

* See also among substantives, adjectives, &c„ nuch words as pombi-»h« (old
person) ; menkdiiUi-the (rascal) s omptd-ihe (small) j m>eiih-ths (short) ; paU-she
(few) j Idah'hatke (deep)} Uah-hala (high, of tree, 4o.)j ngdle (up there) j
vgdthe (down there).

NICOBARESE GRAMMAR. U

td f opshdp-to (aid, help) ; w%46 (wear clothes).

ta-to, ong*y%ang»ta-t6 (condole).

nga-t6y pait-ngato (forget) ; hakd-ngaid (annoy).

yar*-t6, kichih-yanto (yearn).

tdre, mdta-tore (think) ; ka-shdi-tSre (rompV

tdh,tak®-tdh (prick).

yon, dingare-yan (denude) ; chuyd-yan (take rest).

yande f l p$-yande (mislay).

ngayan, dh-ngayan (digest) ; wait-rig ay an (forget).

ngange, loij-ngange (boast).

ngashe, mah-ngashe (fulfil an agreement).

ngata, enydh-ngala (follow) ; myan-ngah, (forsake).

katshe, poshi-hatfihe (fidget).

tarit, orih'iarit (win a race).

ngarit y haratiigarit (startle, #.£.).

ha, ong-ddng-ha (visit) ; et-et-ha (carve).

wa t ochia-wa (call, summon) ; ftno-wa (whip).

ya> komdn*ya (agree) ; cM-ya (rise, of sun, Ac.).

yo t shom-yo (fill a bag) ; diie-yo (travel in canoe).

shu % paleshu (roll,t?.l) ; patdkshu (fall).

sho, tafaUttho (fall) ; ta-huasho (sink).

de, kbd-de (have, exist, occur) ; duan-de (paddle).

There are two other suffixes which are in common nse, via., re
(or de) signifying "own," and r&re (or dede) signifying "self."
Their nature will be ascertained from the following examples :—
shechi-taure (wash one's hands) ; sheeki-ldh~re (wash one's feet) ;
shechufdng-re (wash one's month) ; d&p-oal-tai-re (clap one's
hands) ; oyd-kavga-kdn-de (desert one's wife) ; di-ifdh»re (commit
suicide, lit beat one's-self to death) ; ketot-de (crawl, lit. move
one's-self) ; tomfdt-de (fall from inebriation, fatigue, Ac.) ; ko«ching*
de (take supplies for one's own use) ; rta*r€re (beat one's-self) j ken*,
fiii-dnha-dede (fan one's-self); hafuat-dtde (fill, of bottle, Ac., ©.*.);
halainya-dede (whirl, of a top, Ac, v.t.).

Of substantival prefixes the most common are : — hen, en, bl (or
oal), ong, ka, and h* t hen-lain (top, wheel) ; hen-laridla (rudder) ;
en-kbina (man) ; en-kdna (woman) ; en-poya (seat) ; bl-chua
(jungle) j oal~mdt (eye) ; oal-fdng (mouth) ; ong~eng (bone) ; ongm
yuana (middle) ; ka-chdu ; ka-kdan ; ka-chia, Ac. (terms employed
in addressing one's equals, juniors, and elders) ; hokngdk (food) ;
holpdl (weeds).

On reference to the foregoing pages it will be found that many
prefixes end suffixes are employed 1 in common with two or more
parts of speecb, such as snbsTantives, adjectives, adverbs, preposi-
tions, and verbs (see more especially examples on pp. xvii, xxi, xxiii,
xxxii and xxxiii).

Among the most common are the following, the property of

1 This mt$x alio occurt in verbs denoting oontinuative action (see Section V,
page xxviii).

which is to express direction, possession, or the characteristic of
the word with which they are linked, in the form either of a sub-
stantive, adjective, adverb, or preposition : —

la (prefix and suffix); Id (prefix) ; ta; tola; lama; e.g., with
hoi (head) ? la-kdi (above) ; ta-hoi (on, upon) ; hoi-la (bows
of ship, canoe, 4c.) .
With Uh (foot) ; Id-ldh (foot of mat, bed, 4e.).
With oh (back, skin); la~ok (outside); tala-ok (behind); kan-

yut-lama-ok (cloth (lit. outside) -coat).
With dn (two) ; ch&ng-dn-la (brig, lit. two-masted ship).
„ chiiia (right, dexter) ; la-chula (the right hand side).
, , chakd (face) ; la-chakd ; tala-chahd (in presence of, in front
of).
With/<%? (side) ; tala-fdp (besides, alongside).
„ clwk (place) ; ta-chuh (in front of, in presence of).
„ Jcatah (bottom) ; ta^hatah (under) ; hi-katah (below).
„ oal (in, inside); kanyiht~lama-oal (shirt, &£. inside-coat).
„ ane (that) ; l&-ane (that, or the other, side of creek, baj ,
4c.).
With itd (here) ; Id-itd (this side of creek, bay, 4c.).
„ h anh (wind) ; Ue-lama-hoanh (Nipa-lmi sail).

Other suffixes deserving of special mention are ato and latd
which are found in substantives and adjectives relating to time :—

ski-laid (old, of animate objects).

ehani-lato (age, of animate objects).

or&h-latd (senior) ; inbm~latd (of same age).

teyah-lato (junior) ; inda-atd (hour, period of day or night).

While t6 and ngitd which occur in a certain class of words imply
anger on the part either of the speaker or of the person addressed
or referred to:—

l hM-^t£ }catise (reason) for coming, going, 4c
Idng-ngito 1 cause (reason) for being angry, doing any act of
hibn-ngitd J violence, 4c.

chuan-ldng-ngasM 1 whv (with reference to coming, going, doing,
ehuan-him-ngasM / 4c).

tZthM-^Ud } wh 7 (spoken or addressed to ° ne u> a "g er )-

Jcehto, sulky, ill-tempered ; shitd (postp.) from (in reference to
anger and. the like), e.g., chuan4dngngasM cha, why can't (or
mayn't) I ? chUanddnangito men, what are you about ? bng bUbriki
shitd an monghdng, he has been angry since this morning.

xlvi NICOBABES! GRAMMAK.

(7.) hinle, 1 to bamboo utensils containing shell -lime.

(8.) torn (bunch), to bunches of plantains, betel-nuts, Pandantis,

&c., or to single pineapples and papayas.
(9.) manoal (also mohonka), to bundles of prepared Pandanus or

Oycas paste.
(10.) pomdh (bundle), to large bundles of split cane, also to the

large trimmed bundles of imitation firewood offered by

mourners at grave.
(11.) mekuya, 1 to small bundles of cane, ten of which equal one

pomdh.
(12.) minol (bundle), to small bundles of firewood.
(13.) lamem, 1 to bundles of Chinese tobacco.
(14) amoha, 1 to books only.
(15.) chaminhda, 1 to ladders only.

(16.) shamanap, 1 to pieces (of say 40 yards) of calico, &c.
(17.) kamildng, 1 to ropes and fishing lines.

To the aboye may be added the following : —

het-noang % (used with ni-nau, green coconut) in order to express
distance by sea, e.g. foan hst-noang m-ndu h§ tang (we could
arrive there in four green coconuts* time).

hohbf (used with maiyd, take a betel-quid), in order to indicate
distance by land or time spent on a visit ; e.g. loe hohbt ind
maiyd tang (you two could reach that place in three betel-
quids* time).

XL— Pabticlis, Prefixes, and Suffixes.

Both in the formation of words and of sentences there is an exten-
sive employment of certain particles, some of these merely serve
purposes of euphony, while others play a very important part in
the genius of the language. The principal particles are ta, en (or
pan) , ma? am, om, mo, mi, an, na, ha, &c. In the foregoing pages
(Sections II, III, and IV, pp. xvi to xx, and xliii) the use and signifi-
cance of these latter (viz. : ma, am, &c.) have been indicated. It
has been shown that in the majority of cases words formed from
substantives, adjectives, and verbs, by means of one or other of
these particles denote the agent, object, or characteristic signified,
examples of these being, kamapdh (corpse) from hapdh (die); komo~

1 The original meaning of this term is not known to the present inhabitants.

3 See section on "Astronomy" (" Nicobar Islanders," in course of publication).

8 It seems desirable to point out in this place an error which has found its
way into a recent work treating on this subject. In referring to jNicobarese
word formation and to its characteristic feature of inserting in or prefixing to
the root certain letters and syllables, it is stated that by far the most common
of these is the letter m, as an illustration of which the word met-chai-ckachd-ka.
is cited as signifying t " to greet." This word, however, denotes "how d'ye do "
(addressing one person), being the contracted form of mm'et-chm'chackd*ka\ In
addressing two persons the expression is indt-chai~ckackd-ka' t and in greeting
three or more persons, ifit-chai-ckachdrha' (see Section IV, page xxiv).

NICOBARBSE GRAMMAR. xlvii

fcw(i) (bather), from kolai(j) (to bathe) 5 mitua (visitor), from
itHa (to visit) ; pamahoa (coward), from pahoa (fear) ; damdk
(guest), from dak (come) * f chamang (owner), from chang (possess) ;
kamaru (adults from karu (big) j miyai (value), from yai (price) ;
lamiap (expert), from leap (able, can) ; pamayol (hairy), from
puyol (hair) ; menluana (shaman) from enluana (exorcise) ; mbm-
toma (flock), from bmiom (all) ; mik&sha (singing), from ikdsha
(sing) ; miteak (sleeping), from iteak (sleep) ; chamuh (going home),
from ch&h (go home) ; kamennbishe (song of a certain kind), from
kanbishe (song) ; kamahenwa (a Innation), from kdhe (moon) ;
shamanedl (spoonful), from shaneal (spoon) ; mentainya (basketful),
from hentain (basket) ; na-wd (bleed), from wd (blood) ; ha-yol
(mix fluids), from ydl (together with) ; oreha (begin), from oreh
(first).

The most peculiar feature in the application of certain of these
particles is found in their combination with numerals and with the
Nieobarese standard of measurement, the fathom or arm-span,
where they express the meaning of " only," e.g., heang (one),
hemsang (only one) ; foan (four), fomoan (only four) ; issdt (seven),
missdt (only seven) ; enndyo (two fathoms), menndyo (only two
fathoms), tmfualo (six fathoms), tamenfualo (only six fathoms), &c.
(see p. xliii).

Another particle in most common use is ta. Its employment in
the formation of the passive voice of certain verbs has been pointed
out in Section V (p. xxix). It also occurs euphonically in such
verbs as wi-ta*ta (to flatten) ; wi-ta~chyu (to sweeten), where wi =
make ; ta, level, and chyu, sweet. It has also been shown in Section
III (p. xx), to be employed in the formation of a certain class of
adjectives from substantives, e.g., ta-onihan (wooden) ; ta-karau
(iron, adj.), &c.

In the numerous Mcobarese sentences furnished in these pages
its frequent occurrence will be noticed ; take for example : an kdto
ta oal nl de ta linhen, he is living in his own but to-day ; dak kan
ofe~ ta oal due re ta shaiyuh-ldng, are they all coming in their own
canoe on the day after to-morrow ? where, in accordance with the
unwritten, but none the less recognised laws of Nicobarese diction,
all four ta's are employed euphonically.

This particle (ta) also occurs invariably in construction where the
adjective or adverb follows the word which it qualifies, e.g. paiyuh
ta lapa (a good man) ; chbng-koi ta karu (very tall).

In other cases it is made to serve the purpose of some preposition,
and can even in certain conjunctions be employed in place of a
relative pronoun, e.g. shdn-hata ten an en chia chua ta chumfdka ta
oal-tai re (shampoo to him father ray pectoral-disease palms own),
my father shampooed him with his hands on account of his suffering
pain in the chest ; hen-nat nl ta lopta-len-mfyfa, decorate the hut
with ail kinds of cloth ; Idk he haishbt ta yd re ta hokngok-hare, let
us choose what we want for our food ; ndk ta neng4a~chiha ta
kamapdh, tie the ornamental loin cloth round the corpse.

En (or pan) as pointed out in Section II (p. xv), is the sign of the

Xlviii NIC0BAK1SE GRAMMAK.

nominative case when the substantive or pronoun occurs elsewhere
than at the commencement of a sentence, e.g., ledt en (or pan) chiia,
I have finished (eating, working, &c), pen is sometimes substituted
eophonically for an, e.g., pen-dtawa ; an-dlawa (besides, as well as) ;
ledt pen-dah ; hat an-dah, it's quite finished; chia an hodn men
pendiawa yanga shwdtare, his father, as well as your son, has just
returned.

There are a great variety of prefixes ana w amies employed with
verbs, adjectives, substantives, <fcc, the most important of these, so
far as they affect the words with which they are employed are the
verbal prefixes and suffixes ; the property of the former is in many
cases to intensify the meaning of the word with which they are
employed, while in the case of the latter they frequently serve as
adverbs of direction or motion. As examples of verbal prefixes we
have : oh, op, ong, o, bl, en, et, met, ten, pom, torn, i, nga, ha, ha, toko,
yu, hen, 1 kdha; oh-ldh (avoid, shun); op-top-hata (drink off);
ong-f&ng-hashe (cut down) ; ong-shbng-ha (walk) ; o-taih-hata
(slice) ; o-yu-hashe (put down) ; bl46l (carry on head) ; en-tan-
ngaldh (push away with the feet) ; et-koai-hata (scrape off) ; et-tat~
hanga (efface) ; met-pata-she (to sin) ; ten-fdt-hanga (to dash) ;
pom-ydm-she (overload) ; tom-ch'iia-ngayan (defy) ; i~ddha (sharpen) ;
nga-kok-ngare (disperse) ; ha-teha (to sail) ; ha-yol (mix fluids) ;
ha~leat-e (swoon) ; ha-wap (cut with scissors), ha-shin (to prop) ;
loko-shbng-ha ''wander about) ; loko-yd-lange (converse) ; yu-chuh
(go home).

With regard to verbal suffixes it will be found convenient to
divide them into three classes ; in Class I are included : —

(a) hala; hanga; hahat; hashe; haim; hata.

(b) lare ; ngare ; hare; shire; wire; tare.

(c) h; nge ; he; she; ne ; te.

(d) la; nga; hat; she; ne; ta,

(e) at ; ang ; ahat ; aich ; ain ; ac.

In Class II are placed the following : —

Tai (hand) and nga*tai ; Idh (leg, foot) and nga-ldh ; hoi (head)
and nga-koi ; ndng (ear) and nga-nang ; chahd (face) and nga-chakd;
nge (voice) and nga~nge ; mat (surface) and nga-mat.

In Class III occur those which per se possess no meaning, viz. : —
shl ; ta~shi ; nga~shi ; ne-shi ; hanga-shi ; to ; ta-to ; nga~to ;
yanto ; tore; toh ; yan ; yande; ngayan ; ngange; ngashe; ngala ;
hatshe ; tarit ; ngarit; ha; wa; ya ; yo ; shu; sho ; de.

Examples of those in Class I will be found in Appendix B ( a ),
where, and in Part II of the Dictionary, it will be observed that in
verbs indicating motion the suffixes hala, lare, le, la, and al f convey
a northward or upward signification, while hanga, ngare, nge, nga,
and ang, denote southward; hahat, hare, he, hat, and ahat, east-
ward: hashe, shire, she, and aich, westward or downward; haine,

1 See Section T, pp. xxviii and xxix.

NICOBAKESE GRAMMAR xlix

Hire, ne, and am, towards the landing-place ; and hata, tare, te, ta
and at, towards any direction.

On further examination of the lists of verbs bearing one or other
of the suffixes in question, one finds that in several instances these
appear to be employed somewhat arbitrarily, no special reason
being assignable for the selection. This will be seen on studying
portions of the following list, especially words with hanga, fiat,
kahaty hare, and ngare :—

hala, hedde-hala (eructate) ; haickQaUhala (excavate).

lare, eydm-lare (draw breath) ; chuah-lare (embark) ; puah-

lare (eat meat) ; homdu-lare (flow, of the tide).
la, chal-la (explode) ; tah-la (float) ; ko&h-la (stiffen).
hanga, ko-cheh-hanga (sprinkle) ; lenkdh-hanga (bend) ; eU

stech-hanga (clean, with water) ; wi-hanga (do).
ngare, teah-ngare (go to sleep) ; md-ngare (take leave) ;

hop ^ngare (take hold).
nga t heh-nga (fly away) ; haiy%*nga (go away) ; ngbih-nga (burn) ;

poafa>nga (drown, vA.) ; hodh~nga (famish) ; shup*nga (set,

of sun, moon, Ac.) ; yam-nga (disappear) ; chip-nga

(evaporate) ; chuah»nga (dismount) ; dian-nga (rim away; ;

yuit~nga (dissolve) ; kwbnp-nga (emaciate).
ha-hat, owi-hahat (drive in nail, screw, &e.) ; kantue-hahat

(export).
hare* tenchut-hare ^burrow, of rats).
hat, chuah-hat (disembark) ; nyuam-hai (shrink, of cloth) ; chot-

hat (enter).
hashe, henpok-hashe (drown, v.t) ; haichuaUhashe (dig) ; ep-hashe

(transplant) ; ingah-hashe (slander) ; hafen-hashe (fill a

pillow).
shire, ngol-shvre (bow down) ; ten-chut-shire (burrow, of crabs).
she, yam~she (disappear) ; shup-she (set of sun, &c.) ; pom-fuh-she

(drop, v.L) ; chip-she (evaporate) ; owl-$he (unfurl).
hame, owi-hairie, (take out nail, screw, &c.) ; itosh-hai/He (extract

thorn, &c.) ; tuak-haine (drag) ; iydh»haine (slacken) ;

tapaih-haine (expectorate).
nire, ten-chuah-nire (embark from landing-place) ; aheh~nire (take

an aiinng).
ne, wud-ne (flow) ; dang-ne (transfix) ; dak~ne (break) ; fok-n^e

(chafe) ; hoh-ne (burst).
hata, top-hata (drink), hetot-haia (drag towards one's self) ; or*-

hata (flog) ; oto-hata (sit, of poultry) ; k&m-hata (find) ;

hantue-hata (import) ; et~haia (sketch).
tare, ylang^tare (bring or take with oneVself),
ta, chiiap'ta (slash) ; hashd-ta (alter).

Of these by far the most common in use are verbs with lumga
md hata. Generally speaking the meanings which appear to be
assigned to these several suffixes are as follows :- —

d

mCOBAKKSE GRAMMAR.

hala, 1 tare, la, U, motion upwards, out of , to a higher level.

hanga, 1 ngare, nga, motion from one's-self .

ha-hat, 1 ha/re, hat, motion inwards.

hashed shire, she? motion downwards, to a lower level.

haine, 1 wire, ne % motion outwards or away.

hata, 1 ta, on the same level ; motion towards one's-self.

The following occur in Class II : —

tai (hand) refers to what is done with the hand, by force, Ac.,
e.g., kwdpta-tai (clutch through fear or rage) ; alde-beat-tai
(heal, v.t.) ; hodh-nga-tai (starve, v.t.) ; haichang-nga-tai
(teach any handicraft).

Idh (foot, leg), refers to travelling, moving, and the like: d*nge~

Idh (leave, depart) ; ta»foish*s7w~ldh (slip down) ; diie-ldh

(travel in canoe) j oreh-nga^ldh (go in advance) ; lung-nga m

dh (drift away seawards) ; okai~nga~ldh (take away) ;

aiyikuti-nga-ldh (drive away).

kdi ( lead); refers to anything relating to the head, top, Ac.: ka-
bpe-kdi (capsize) ; kenyuor-nga-koi (cover a pot).

ndng (ear), refers to hearing, relating, and the, like: oltdUnga-
ndng (describe) ; holtdlnga-oahndng (obey) ; haloh*nga~ndng
(banter) ; himdnga-ndng (caution) ; hai-yiti»nga~nd/na (de-
ceive).

chakd (face). This suffix occurs in a large number of words con-
veying wide distinctions of meaning : yd-chakd (intend) ;
yoUchakd (aid) ; or$h-chakd (proceed in advance) ; chtm~
nga-chakd (lose one's way) ; dal~chakd (be bashful) ; dk~nga>-
chakd (blush) ; enfua~chakd (dream) ; liamd»chakd (inquire) ;
dah-chakd (covet) ; et~chai~chakd'Ubare (read aloud, lit. greet
book or paper).

ng4 (voice) refers to speaking and the like : ong-y$ang*M-ng$
(condole) ; kedohnga-ngi (contradict) ; kdhd-wati-nge (dis-
agree) j opyap-nga^ngi (eaves drop) ; pdwa-nge (echo) 5
poehi-hat-nge (prattle).

mat (surface) refers to anything relating to external parts, e.g.,
skin, surface, Ac. ; ifdh*nga»ma£ (brash any surface) ;
kalocvpa~mat (smear with turmeric) ; et-tat-mat (wipe) ; et-
stech-nga-mat (clean) ; ddk-o-mctf (water, of the mouth).

Examples of Class III are : —

sM, edta~shi (call, summon) ; hodah-shi (admire).

ta-shi, henyoLtashi (add).

ngQ~shi, harra~ngashl (nurse) ; oltdl-ngashi (describe).

tiesM, %ngah~fi,e~shi (confess).

hangashi, hakah-hcmga-sM (damage).

1 With few exceptions verbs having these suffixes are transitive.

* See also among substantives, adjectives, &c„ nuch words as pombi-»h« (old
person) ; menkdiiUi-the (rascal) s omptd-ihe (small) j m>eiih-ths (short) ; paU-she
(few) j Idah'hatke (deep)} Uah-hala (high, of tree, 4o.)j ngdle (up there) j
vgdthe (down there).

NICOBARESE GRAMMAR. U

td f opshdp-to (aid, help) ; w%46 (wear clothes).

ta-to, ong*y%ang»ta-t6 (condole).

nga-t6y pait-ngato (forget) ; hakd-ngaid (annoy).

yar*-t6, kichih-yanto (yearn).

tdre, mdta-tore (think) ; ka-shdi-tSre (rompV

tdh,tak®-tdh (prick).

yon, dingare-yan (denude) ; chuyd-yan (take rest).

yande f l p$-yande (mislay).

ngayan, dh-ngayan (digest) ; wait-rig ay an (forget).

ngange, loij-ngange (boast).

ngashe, mah-ngashe (fulfil an agreement).

ngata, enydh-ngala (follow) ; myan-ngah, (forsake).

katshe, poshi-hatfihe (fidget).

tarit, orih'iarit (win a race).

ngarit y haratiigarit (startle, #.£.).

ha, ong-ddng-ha (visit) ; et-et-ha (carve).

wa t ochia-wa (call, summon) ; ftno-wa (whip).

ya> komdn*ya (agree) ; cM-ya (rise, of sun, Ac.).

yo t shom-yo (fill a bag) ; diie-yo (travel in canoe).

shu % paleshu (roll,t?.l) ; patdkshu (fall).

sho, tafaUttho (fall) ; ta-huasho (sink).

de, kbd-de (have, exist, occur) ; duan-de (paddle).

There are two other suffixes which are in common nse, via., re
(or de) signifying "own," and r&re (or dede) signifying "self."
Their nature will be ascertained from the following examples :—
shechi-taure (wash one's hands) ; sheeki-ldh~re (wash one's feet) ;
shechufdng-re (wash one's month) ; d&p-oal-tai-re (clap one's
hands) ; oyd-kavga-kdn-de (desert one's wife) ; di-ifdh»re (commit
suicide, lit beat one's-self to death) ; ketot-de (crawl, lit. move
one's-self) ; tomfdt-de (fall from inebriation, fatigue, Ac.) ; ko«ching*
de (take supplies for one's own use) ; rta*r€re (beat one's-self) j ken*,
fiii-dnha-dede (fan one's-self); hafuat-dtde (fill, of bottle, Ac., ©.*.);
halainya-dede (whirl, of a top, Ac, v.t.).

Of substantival prefixes the most common are : — hen, en, bl (or
oal), ong, ka, and h* t hen-lain (top, wheel) ; hen-laridla (rudder) ;
en-kbina (man) ; en-kdna (woman) ; en-poya (seat) ; bl-chua
(jungle) j oal~mdt (eye) ; oal-fdng (mouth) ; ong~eng (bone) ; ongm
yuana (middle) ; ka-chdu ; ka-kdan ; ka-chia, Ac. (terms employed
in addressing one's equals, juniors, and elders) ; hokngdk (food) ;
holpdl (weeds).

On reference to the foregoing pages it will be found that many
prefixes end suffixes are employed 1 in common with two or more
parts of speecb, such as snbsTantives, adjectives, adverbs, preposi-
tions, and verbs (see more especially examples on pp. xvii, xxi, xxiii,
xxxii and xxxiii).

Among the most common are the following, the property of

1 This mt$x alio occurt in verbs denoting oontinuative action (see Section V,
page xxviii).

which is to express direction, possession, or the characteristic of
the word with which they are linked, in the form either of a sub-
stantive, adjective, adverb, or preposition : —

la (prefix and suffix); Id (prefix) ; ta; tola; lama; e.g., with
hoi (head) ? la-kdi (above) ; ta-hoi (on, upon) ; hoi-la (bows
of ship, canoe, 4c.) .
With Uh (foot) ; Id-ldh (foot of mat, bed, 4e.).
With oh (back, skin); la~ok (outside); tala-ok (behind); kan-

yut-lama-ok (cloth (lit. outside) -coat).
With dn (two) ; ch&ng-dn-la (brig, lit. two-masted ship).
„ chiiia (right, dexter) ; la-chula (the right hand side).
, , chakd (face) ; la-chakd ; tala-chahd (in presence of, in front
of).
With/<%? (side) ; tala-fdp (besides, alongside).
„ clwk (place) ; ta-chuh (in front of, in presence of).
„ Jcatah (bottom) ; ta^hatah (under) ; hi-katah (below).
„ oal (in, inside); kanyiht~lama-oal (shirt, &£. inside-coat).
„ ane (that) ; l&-ane (that, or the other, side of creek, baj ,
4c.).
With itd (here) ; Id-itd (this side of creek, bay, 4c.).
„ h anh (wind) ; Ue-lama-hoanh (Nipa-lmi sail).

Other suffixes deserving of special mention are ato and latd
which are found in substantives and adjectives relating to time :—

ski-laid (old, of animate objects).

ehani-lato (age, of animate objects).

or&h-latd (senior) ; inbm~latd (of same age).

teyah-lato (junior) ; inda-atd (hour, period of day or night).

While t6 and ngitd which occur in a certain class of words imply
anger on the part either of the speaker or of the person addressed
or referred to:—

l hM-^t£ }catise (reason) for coming, going, 4c
Idng-ngito 1 cause (reason) for being angry, doing any act of
hibn-ngitd J violence, 4c.

chuan-ldng-ngasM 1 whv (with reference to coming, going, doing,
ehuan-him-ngasM / 4c).

tZthM-^Ud } wh 7 (spoken or addressed to ° ne u> a "g er )-

Jcehto, sulky, ill-tempered ; shitd (postp.) from (in reference to
anger and. the like), e.g., chuan4dngngasM cha, why can't (or
mayn't) I ? chUanddnangito men, what are you about ? bng bUbriki
shitd an monghdng, he has been angry since this morning.

NIC0BAR1SE GRAMMAR liii

XII.— Syntax.

The collocation of the words composing a sentence being in
many cases identical with pr very similar to that in English, the
framing of simple sentences presents little or no difficulty. As
in Malay the substantive verb is frequently omitted, being
expressed only when absolute necessity arises for signifying
affirmation.

i£.(?., ane inoat lamang ten chUa^ that knife belongs to me ;
homkwbm ten chiia ane powah, give (to) me that paddle.

indat shong, or. inoat ta-shong, or inoat tashong ot signify the
knife is sharp. The two former can, however, also mean a (or
the) sharp knife. In the absence of " 6t " the context should
determine which is intended.

When the object is to emphasize any particular portion of the
sentence the arrangement of the words undergoes some change,
e.£., dure ane ndang shanen kwbmhata ten chiia, (both those things
spears give to me), give me both those spears ; ane kanyut halau
men llmgto ten chit (that coat buy you from whom), from whom
did you buy that edat p paitshe aroe hGang-shidmna ong-shdng, (some
rice at once cook), cook some rice at once ; wi ond ranen ten an,
(make those-two now to it), those two are now making it. In all
such cases, moreover, emphasis is further iridicaied by special stress
being laid on certain words.

The adjective usually, but not invariably, follows the substantive
which it qualifies ; in the latter case the particle " ta tf is usually
prefixed, e.g., chaling diie, or due ta-chaling, a long canoe ; lapd
paxyuh, or paiyuh ta*lapa, a. good man.

In like manner the adverb may precede or follow the verb :
Unhetl hod wi chiia, (to-day plenty work I), I am very busy to-day ;
iteak poaiore kdmheng en*an, .(sleeps always noon he), he always
sleeps at noon.

The following examples illustrating common methods of expres-
sion may here.be added: —

An chuh harra halau loe kdn de (lit. he go see buy cloth wife own),
, he has gone to see about buying some cloth for his wife ;
ledt et-chai-chakd-Ubare chiia oal kaiyl de, I read it while travel-
ling ( lit. in road own) j
et«chai~chakd~lebare chiia tanang ta an, he arrived while I was

reading (lit. reading I arrive he) ;
harra ta chdu de ta finowa tai cMa an kenywm ledt chim, the
child cried on seeing his elder brother being beaten by his
father (lit see brother own beaten by father, Ac.) ;
chiia finowa tai an ta bng bl-haki, I was beaten by him this

morning ;

an ikdahnga tai chiia ta minyui, he was shaved by me yesterday.

So much bearing on the subject of this section has been already

described in the foregoing pages and will be made clear in what

follows that it seems unnecessary to repeat such particulars in this

place

tf 2

liv KICOBARESE GRAMMAR.

XIII. — Thi Substantive Vieb.

The substantive verb " to be " is represented in certain cases by 6t l
(to be, have), and in others by kbd-de l and ka-kat l (to have being,
possess, exist, occur) ;* like its equivalent, ada, in Malay, the first
of these is frequently left to he understood, e.g., due nee chang-chua
(&), this canoe is my own; one kenywn kodng ta-karu (of), that
child is Tery strong; ane ta-lean-tashe (St), that is (or will be)
sufficient.

When, however, possession or existence is indicated it is
necessary to express the verb, e.g., 6t (or kbdde or kakat) enkbina
enkdna ta-itd f there are men and women here ; tin danbi due en/dan
tdk pdwah St (or kbdde or kakat) ta-an, he has two canoes and eight
paddles ; paitshe shi Ue 6t (or kbdde or kakat) ta-ofe, they have some
old cloth ; dm ta-karu (or kbdde or kakat) ta-chiia, I have a big
dog; kbdde (or 6t or kakat) ta-ane kolpal, there is b$che*de-mer
there ; katdh-oal mattai Lobng shom-Pen kbdde (or ot or kakat)) the
ahom-Pen are in the interior of Great Nicobar ; Unhen chbk-koi
(0) (or kbdde or kakat) ta-an; he has a headache to-day,

It must, in like manner, be expressed in negative* sentences, e.g.,
hat-dt (or hat-kbdde) took ta-linhen, there is no toddy to-day ; hat-
ot (or hat-kbdde) rupia ta-oal hoptep an, there is no money in his
box.

Referring to the particulars furnished under Demonstrative
Pronouns (see ngdle f p. xxv) and under Adverbs, (see hanga, Ac,
p.,xxxii and holds, &c, p. xxxiii) we find that in alluding to a higher
or lower position or to any object in a northerly , southerly, easterly
or westerly diraction or at the landing place, this word kbdde under-
goes various changes of form in accordance with the system indi-
cated in Appendix B(*). This will be clearly illustrated ^y the
following examples : —

kbdde ta-ane dak, is there any water there ? (any direction).
kblde* ta-ane ddk (or kblde ta-nqdle ddk) is there any water

there ? (N. direction).
kbngde ta-ane ddk (or kbngde ta-ngange ddk) is there any water

there P (S. direction).
ko-hare ta-ane ddk (or kS-hare ta-ngdhae ddk) is there any

water there ? (B. direction).
kbit-de* ta-ane ddk (or kbitde ta-ngaiche ddk) is there any

water there? (W. direction).
kbin-de ta-ane ddk (or kbinde ta-ngaine ddk) is there any water

there? (at the landing place).

When employed interrogatively the word kakat is generally
preferred, unless a negative is expressed, e.g., kardm ndang ngodt

1 For further partimuars regarding the employment of these three words see
Beotion VI, pp. xixv and xxxvi.
3 In Hwicalcat cannot be employed.
* Kofdettoh means " upstairs," and kfcids " downstairs.*'

HICOtfARESE GRAMMAK. lv

men kakat (or kbdde ta-men, or at toymen) how many coconuts
hare you got? katom yuang kamatoka kakat (or kbdde or 6t) ta»
wahe, how many dancers were there last night ? toak-ta~taiib kakat
(or kbdde or St) ta-nl men, is there any fermented tori in your hut P
katom kamahenwa kakat, how many months old (or ago) is it P 1 cwi
ne#-dt (or net-kbdde) pmhbin ta-mattai men, isn't there (some)
tobacco in your village ?

XIV. — Intibbooative Sentences.

In many cases interrogation is sufficiently indicated by the tone
of the voice, otherwise it may be marked by the interrogative
pronoun ka t kd, kan (what), e.g., tau men kd an, is he your younger
brother P ; shwdtare ka m&h ta~Mnheft, will you return to-day ? ka
man kaungayanmerakat, are you (feeling) tired now ? md(k)ngayan
ka en koan men, is your child quite well £ dile men kan enh kan one
is this or that your canoe P men Una Lobng ka hanan, are you going
to visit Great Nicobar or not P men heu ka an ka hanan (you saw
what yes what no), you saw it, didn't youP mdh ka met heang
shud men Lobng (ever what you-not one time you Great Nicobar),
have you never once been to Great Nicobar.

When an affirmative reply is expected or desired an (yes) is
substituted for ka and invariably marks the enquiry by com*
mencing the sentence, e.g. an na tau meti, isn't he your younger
brother P an men iteakla ta-linhen, don't you feel drowsy to-day P
an koma ichye hanta at Lobng, isn't white cane found only at Great
Nicobar ? an men heang (yes you one) you got something didn't
you P (said to one returning from hunting, fishing, Ac.) ; an me&
shwdtare ta-haki, you'll return to-morrow, won'tyou ? an ka mek
yiang-an chila olyol an ka hanan (yes what you with me say yes
what no), are you coming with me ? say yes or no.

Interrogation may also of course be denoted by means of in-
terrogative pronouns and adverbs (see Sections IV and VI, pp. xxvi
and xxxii to xxxv inclusive) e.g., chi yd haiyuan, who is going to hunt
(pigs) ? due nee chamang~ta-chi, whose is this canoe P lamongto*cM
kdm men ten ane, from whom did you get that? chun onlhan
ongfwdng en-chiha, which tree shall 1 cut down ? chin leang an, what
is his name P chuan leang an, what is its name P chuan yon if 4
kakat, what's your news (aho what goods have you got P ) ; cMn-
teang-dio hokai ta-men, what else have you brought ? hi-chua na itd,
when (at what time) was he here ? kdhe na itd, when will he be
here? kdhe-tashe men dak, when did you come? kdh$»ta~tai
hcmkwbm-hata ten men, when will he give it to you ? kdh&nga-tai
homkwbm~hata ten men, when did he give it to you P kd-tai men 1 wl
ten enh, how did, (do or will) you make this P kd-yan men taMnhen
how are you (feeling) to-day ? kd-sM danun yo men, what kind of
medicine do you want ? chun kdt'6 men, where do you liv s e ? kat*

1 See next Section. s See Section VI, p. xxxrii.

Ivi NICOBARESE GRAMMAR.

chun diie men, where is your canoe? ka-chuk heu men ten an
whereabout did you see it ? chu-shl Man en an, whither is it run-
ning P Ibngto-chu ohai men ten enh, whence did you bring this ?
chdwc men dah-shire, why are you going there (westwards) ; chdwe
met Ma ingah-m-ndng chiia, why did'nt you tell me sooner ? chnan-
shi men ochuld kdt'o Lambngshe, why do you prefer living at Condul?
chuan-wl men Ibm, why are you lying down ? ichuanddngngashi cha,
why can't (mayn't, shouldn't) I r chuan«ldngnga$h% w% men ta-ane,
why did you make that ? chuan-ldngngitd wat-shl, why did you do
ifc thus (said angrily) ? chtlan-ldnqngito ife, what are yon all about
(said angrily) ? child a-hdnngasM men iteak, why are you sleeping ?
chuan-hdnngitd met wat-shl akdh, why are you bo stupid (said
angrily) ? tai-chua hoi an na-wd, why is his head bleeding^

XY. — Negative Sentences.

In the formation of negative sentences one or other of the follow-
ng words is commonly employed : —

hat (not) ; hat-heang ; hat-ot (none, not any) ; ngonq. (none,
nothing, empty); wot (don't, be-not) ; hat-mah (never) \. hat-
mand(k)nga-t6-he (nevermore) ; hanan (no).

anya-pa and anya-chii answer to the Malay antah, being used in
the sense of " I can't say ; who knows ? there's no saying."

kdha-tore denotes " never mind, no matter," e.g., an %®t Man men,
he is not your child ; oal hoptep men ta-ngong, there^er nothing in
your box ; oal diie men hat-heang mtdn, there's no spear in your
canoe ; hat-heang yuang ta-akdh yo-at-chtin en an, no one knows
where he has gone ; oal nl an haUot toak, there's no toddy in his hut ;
wot men monghdng, don't be angry ; chit-mah hen hibut, I have
never seen a dugong-j chit mand\k)ngastdhe itua Tatdt, I shall
never more visit Chowraj anya-pa katom ledt kapdh f there's no
knowing how many died.

XVL — On Auxiliaries,

In the conjugation of transitive and intransitive verbs various
auxiliaries are employed : —

yd (to wish, be willing) is employed to denote any future action ;
enhtayan chiia yd ddhtare, I intend to go there one of these
days ; ofet yd katoka, they are not going to (won't) dance.

aide (just now, on the point of), chong aide hateha, the ship is on
the point of sailing ; poashe aide chal-hala, the baby is just
waking.

enydh (lit. afterwards) is sometimes employed as the sign of the
future tense, e.g., ledt w% nee enydh chiia itua m Mai men,
when I have finished this I shall visit your village.

eat (already, has, have, had, become, finished) expresses *pa$t
action and corresponds with the Malay word sudah ; hat na
kapdhf he is dead ; ledt of§ okngok, they have eaten ; an ledt
ybh, it Jias gone bad : an ledt shi tir&m, it occurred long ago.

NIC0BARBS1 GRAMMAR.

leat-ngare (entirely, utterly, completely, also finished) is in many
cases employed after the maimer of habis in Malay: ofe
bmtdm kapdh leatngare, they are nil dead and gone ; am torn
ddhnga leatngare, they are all entirely torokeu ; hen na (leat)
olyola leatngare, when he had finished speaking ; bmtdm
hornktbom-hanga leatnqare, it is all spent.

yanga (lit. from, just now) is often used in place of leat When
referring to recent events, e.g., cMm yanga 1 olyola ten an (lit.
I from tell to him) I have jnst told hin* * yanga (leat) en an,
it is just finished ; yanga chuh en an, he mis just gone ;
yanga chicn men, where have yon jnst come from ?

yaafig^shito (lit. busy) appears to be employed as the sign of the
imperfect tense ; and

yuang-shito*yanga as that of the pluperfect, e.g., heii wwn dak
ta-minyni chiia yuangshito, wi due, when you came yes,ter-
day I was (bnsy) making a canoe ; oreh-chakd men shwdtwre
an yuang-shito-yanga kalbk not ane, h# had bee a sticking
that pig before your return.

leap and doh express ability, and therefore correspond to the
Malay words buleh, lain or sampw^ e.g., chiia leap (or ddh)
klchah I can swim ; linhen chit&oh (up^eftpyakngok taina (chiia)
tu, I cannot eat to-day as I am sick ; chit leap (or ddh) he~<u
taina hodnnga tuchul : I cannot see because it is too dark ;
ane hat doh na pahai-tai tama yok tyit. that not able it eat
because rotten), that being rotten is not fit to eat.

ddh is also used in the sense of " may,*' e.g.. paiyuh Tatdt hat doh
wl nl hille* the natives of Chowra- island' may not make pent-
roof huts ; taina entoin ta-linhen Idmgngatkl ehit dSh katoka t
this being the entoin feast I may not dance (lit. because
entoin to-day therefore &e.)

dohta denotes obligation or necessity and expresses "should " or
"mush," met dohta ow t'enkdna-m men,joxL sJbould not beat
your sister; met dohta kalo hat tangtaahe, you should (or
must) not steal, ifc is wrong; met dohta olyola ta-leang
kamapdh, you mast (should) not mention the dead man's
name ; dohta chiia shwdtare ta bUhakn,, I must return in the
morning.
[N.B. ka' (indeed) can even be similarly employed, men bl-haki
dak ka', you must come in the morning.]

okldkngatd expresses permission, e.g., chiia okldkngatd an kdt'6 ta
ni chila, I let him live in my hut; wot men okldkngatd an
shwdtare, don't let him return.

kaiydh tashe (also doh) -implies power or permission to do a thing,
met kaiydhtasheitua maitai ane, you have no permission to
visit that village.

haroh4a-yande appears to correspond to the English "might,"
but it is evidently rarely employed.

1 Not "I was able tb speak " as these words hme been rendered is a recent
ffork on this language.

lviii NIOOBAfiESE GRAMMAR

Mk and shbh are synonymous and are employed without distinc-
tion with one and all ol the personal pronouns in the im-
perative mood, in order to denote exhortation and the like,
after the manner of the English equivalent "let," &£*» l&h
het iteak, let us not sleep ; shok ondt oria tai oft, let not those
two be beaten by them.

w*t (probably a contraction of wi-hat t make-not) which will be
found in Section YI (p. xxxvii) as the form of negation in
nse with the second person singular and plural of the im-
perative mood is exclusively employed with men (thou), ind
(yon two), and ift (yon all; in order to denote prohibition
or entreaty, e.g., wot ift ch&h, don't go 1 wot men leang-tai,
don't make a noise !

XYH. — On Intinsiyis.

The most common method of expressing an intensive degree is by
employing ha* (indeed) as a suffix; when applied to pronouns it
denotes " self," '* the very/* e.g. H an ka\ oft ka% he himself, they
themselves ; ane ka% the very same {lit. that indeed) ; when used
with substantives it signifies genuine, real, pure, proper, own ; e.g.,
chud far, real (pure) silver; cMa fea, one's own fatner (i.e., not step-
or foster-father) ; pcmahda ka% a downright coward ; akai ka%
indigenous Ghavica leaf (i.e., the 0. Ma<crosiacfoya (in contradistinc-
tion to akai haling, the foreign or cnkivated betel-leaf, the 0.
Betle) ; haldk ka% the proper form of ladder, t.e., of bamboo with
wooden rungs (in contradistinction to haldk kaling, the foreign or
so-called " monkey " ladder, consisting of a thick pole with deep
notches to form steps) : when employed with adjectives and adverbs
it signifies "very," "quite" e g., ohalmg (long), chaling ka' (very
long} ; chinUnga (longer), chmlmga ka' (longest) ; enhtayan ka*
(very soon) ; dmtdm hompen-ngare ka% all were quite silent.

en-daJi ; pen-dak are employed with adjectives, verbs, and adverbs,
but not with other parts of speech, in the same sense as ka\

chbng-pendah, very high ; Ua-pendah, very quickly.

leat-endak, quite finished (" that's all," as after a recital).

Adjectives and adverbs may be intensified to a still greater
degree by the use of the adverb pait (much) ; ta*karu (very) ; to-
wtvhatme (exceedingly, excessively), or bV the reduplication of ka';
nee due pait Unpaa ka' fbmtdm, this canoe is much the best of the
lot ; an monghdug ta-karil, he is very angry indeed ; ddk nina

fachau ta~uruhatshe, this water is exceedingly cold ; pomls ngong
a'-ka\ the bottle is quite empty ; an kdungayan ka~ka*, he is com-
pletely worn out (fatigued).

An alternative method of expressing an intensive degree by means
of prolonging stress on the accented syllable of certain words denot-
ing quantity, quality, &c., has been pointed out in the foregoing
(see p. xiv).

Jix

LIST OF TRANSITIVE VERBS WHICH HAVI A PASSIVE

VOICE.

After forwarding the completed MSS. of his Engiish-Nieobarese and Mcobarese-
English Vocabularies to this country, Mr. Man wished to distinguish more
precisely between the Active and Passive Voice in the language than had been
done in the English-Nioobarese Vocabulary; bat as Part I was already in type
when his notes for this purpose arrived, it was not possible to make the
necessary corrections and additions throughout the work without seriously
disturbing the making up of the pages. By the kind advice and assistance
of Mr. A. J. Ellis, F.R.S., the following list of Transitive Verbs possessing a
Passive Voice has been prepared, to which reference is made in the Vocabulary
by an asterisk attached to the Nioobarese word. A. F. M.

Burn, Broil, Boast, Singe, Ac. («•&),
karbk-hata.
To be burned, broiled, Ac. (t>.j>,),

Blindfold (vd.) 9 ndk~oalmat.f

To be blindfolded (v.p,) t Mh&~oal»
mat.f
Disarm (v.t) f prevent, op-y&p-Kaia.

To be disarmed (v*p*) $ op-ydpa.
Distribute food (v.i.) f hinch&u.

To be distributed (t?.p.), said of
food, hinchauwa.
Eat (i?i.), ok-ng6k.

To be eaten (v. p.), ta-ngdka.
Eat meat (#.£.), ham-ta~kdre.

To be eaten (v.p.), said of meat
only, ta-hdma.
Employ (v.t.) t ngSang.

To be employed (v j?.), ngtianga.
Fasten (v.t) f pdfohata.

To be fastened («.£>.), p6ka.
Fasten («.£.), a cord round an animal's

neck, Mh-ong-ldnga.

To be fastened (p.p.), Mkd-ong-
Idnga.
Fasten the arms (v.*.), pinion, omtum-

kodl.

To be fattened by the arms, to be
pinioned (*#.)> tuma-kodl.

Fasten the legs (v,t) f omtum-Uh.

To be fastened by the legs fap*) f
tuma~ldh.
Fire a cannon (v.t) 9 hakok-hata.

To be cannonaded (v.j?.), hahoka..
Forbid (vl), ol-teal-hata.

To be forbidden (v.p) t oUeala.
Geld (v*t.),poak»hata.

To be gelded (t>.j>.), jpoo&a.
Gird (v.t.) y Mk-ong*y$ang.

To be girt (v.p.) f Odka-ong-yucwg.
Hang (v.t*) t by the neck, pdk-ong-

ISnga.

To be hanged by the neck (v.p.) f
p6ka~ong-l6nga.
Harken to (v.t.), hateng.

To be barkened to (tnp,), hatenga.
Hear (v.t.), ydng.

To be heard (v. p.), ydnga.
Hit with a cannon (v.k) f taiy&-ta%~

hakdk-hata.

To be hit by a cannon-shot (*.£>.),
taiyS-tw-hakoka.
Hit with a crossbow (v.t) f taiyo-tai-
hanfbin-hata.

To be hit by a bolt (v.p.) f twiyo4ai-
haifbiHa.
Hit with a gun (v.t.) f taiyd-tai-Karil-

Kata.

f NoU thst »4ir denote the Actire, and &1W the Ih^r© Voioe.

Ix

To be hit by a gunshot (v.p.) t taiy$~
tai-harilla.
Husk coconuts (v.h), et-sh&ia*

To be husked (t?.j?.)> said of coco-
nuts, ia-shdta.
Inherit (v.t,) 9 mandya.

To be inherited (v.p,), ta-mandya.
Invite (#.{.), imdya.

To be invited (j).p.) 9 ta-imdya.
Lament (v.t,), ai-latd.

To be lamented (v.p,), ta-aUlatd.
Lash together with cane, string, or

fibre (v.L), ndk-hata.\

To be lashed together with cane,
string, or fibre (v.p.) 3 ok-ndka.f
Load (v.tl), said of a canoe, yuak-hata.

To be loaded, said of a canoe (t>.j>.)>
yuaka*
Make (v.t), wi-hata.

To be made (v.p.) f tola.
Mince (v.t,), ok~ddk<>hata.

To be minced (t>.j>.)> ok~daka.
Overhear (#.£.)> mong~ydng.

To be overheard (vp.), mong~ydnga.
Plait (v.k)f with cane, entain-hata.

To be plaited (t?.#.), ^** n cane t
entainya.
Bip open a carcase (v .£.), ol-idl-hata.

To be ripped open 0?.j>.)> as ft car "
case, of-?$2a.

Scorch (t?.2.), harbk-hata.

To be scorched (t?.j3.), hardka.
Sew (t>.£), ichzh-hata.

To be sewed (v.p.) t chiha.
Shoot with crossbow (v.t.) f hanfbm*

hata.
To be shot at (v.p.), as an object with

a crossbow, hanfbina*
Shoot with a child's bow (*>.£.)» h&fyft"
hat a.

To be shot at with a child's bow
(t?.p.), kanpzla.
Shoot at a mark or target with gun
(#.$,), loko'hariUhata.
To be shot at as a target by a gun
(v.p.) t lokd'haritta.
Shoot at a mark or target with cannon
(#.£.)» hko~hakdk~hata.
To be shot at as a mark or tirget
with a cannon (t>.p.), loka-hahoka.
Shoot at a mark • with a crossbow
(u.£.), hko-hanfoin-hata.
To be sh ot at with a crossbow (t?.j?.),
hka-h aAfbina.
Visit (v.t), itua.

To be visited (v.p.) f ta-tue-ya.
Your village was visited by me
yesterday, linhen mattai met tar
Meya (to) tat chiha.
Weave, see " Plait."

t Note that ndh denotes the Active, and ndH the Paseiye Voice,

DICTIONARY

01? THK

CENTRAL NICOBARESE LANGUAGE

(ENGLISH -NICOBARESE AND NICOBARESE - INGUSH),

WITH

Appendices containing a Comparison of Synonymous Words
in the remaining Nicobarese . Forms and other matters,

PHECEDED BY

NOTES ON THE GRAMMAR OF THE CENTRAL FORM.

EDWARD HORACE M|N,

Fir$t AntUtant Superintendent of the Andaman* and Nicobars ; Fellow of the
Moy. Ge*»g. Soc. ; Member of the Anthrop. Institute ; etc.

AtfTHOB Of "THE ABORIGIHiX INHABITANTS OF THX ANDAMAN iML&JSm."

First Published 1888-89
Reprinted 1975

Published by :
K. M. Mittal
Sanskaran Prakashak
65-F, Anand Nagar
DELHI-110035 (India)
Printed at :
Kohli Offset Works
Shahzada Bagh
DELHI-110035